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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: court · wake · march · club · drill · spell · charge · net

  1. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  2. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  7. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  8. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  14. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  19. The tickets are free of ________________.
  20. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  21. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  22. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  23. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  24. He took the fish out of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for golf
  2. wake — to stop sleeping
  3. march — music
  4. drill — the tool
  5. spell — letters
  6. charge — electricity
  7. club — for dancing
  8. charge — in control
  9. court — for sport
  10. spell — a short time
  11. court — of a king
  12. wake — a trail
  13. drill — a practice
  14. club — a group
  15. march — the month
  16. court — of law
  17. march — the month
  18. net — in sport
  19. charge — a price
  20. net — after costs
  21. wake — before a funeral
  22. drill — army training
  23. spell — magic
  24. net — for catching

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