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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: chest · staff · wake · drill · ruler · march · game · court

  1. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  9. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  10. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  11. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  12. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  13. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  17. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  18. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. march — the month
  3. ruler — for measuring
  4. chest — a box
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. drill — the tool
  7. chest — of your body
  8. drill — a practice
  9. wake — a trail
  10. ruler — for measuring
  11. staff — employees
  12. staff — employees
  13. wake — to stop sleeping
  14. court — of a king
  15. court — for sport
  16. wake — before a funeral
  17. drill — army training
  18. ruler — a monarch
  19. chest — of your body
  20. court — of law
  21. staff — a stick
  22. march — music
  23. march — the month
  24. game — a match

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