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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 120 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: dip · drill · press · cue · march · kid · band · row

  1. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  6. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  15. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  16. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  22. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  23. Did you ________________ the button?
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. drill — the tool
  2. band — a ring
  3. press — a publisher
  4. band — a music group
  5. drill — army training
  6. cue — a hint
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. march — music
  9. press — newspapers
  10. row — a line
  11. row — to paddle
  12. cue — a signal
  13. march — the month
  14. dip — to sink
  15. cue — for pool
  16. row — a quarrel
  17. kid — child
  18. march — the month
  19. dip — to dunk
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. drill — a practice
  22. dip — a sauce
  23. press — to push
  24. kid — to tease

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com