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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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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: drill · staff · mug · kid · kick · sharp · march · pound

  1. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  2. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  5. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  6. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  7. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  12. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  13. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  14. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  15. Where did you ________________ them?
  16. It's one o'clock ________________.
  17. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  18. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  19. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  22. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  23. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  24. The old man leaned on his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  2. march — the month
  3. kid — to tease
  4. kick — a thrill
  5. drill — the tool
  6. kick — in football
  7. mug — a face
  8. march — music
  9. drill — army training
  10. kid — child
  11. pound — a weight
  12. pound — for dogs
  13. mug — a cup
  14. sharp — clever
  15. mug — to rob
  16. sharp — exactly
  17. sharp — with an edge
  18. pound — to hit hard
  19. staff — employees
  20. march — the month
  21. staff — employees
  22. kick — with a leg
  23. drill — a practice
  24. staff — a stick

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