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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 124 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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Word bank
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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: wake · march · land · trunk · mouse · net · drill · root

  1. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  2. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  3. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  4. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  5. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  6. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  12. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  13. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  14. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  19. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  20. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  21. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. drill — army training
  2. march — the month
  3. drill — the tool
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. wake — a trail
  6. net — for catching
  7. land — a country
  8. land — to come down
  9. trunk — of an elephant
  10. land — ground
  11. mouse — the animal
  12. wake — to stop sleeping
  13. wake — before a funeral
  14. trunk — of a car
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. net — in sport
  17. march — the month
  18. root — of a plant
  19. mouse — for a computer
  20. root — the cause
  21. drill — a practice
  22. march — music
  23. root — of a word
  24. net — after costs

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