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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: mate · straw · march · tube · mark · drill · present · ground

  1. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  7. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  8. I'll be taking the ________________.
  9. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  10. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  11. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  12. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  18. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  19. Have you found your soul ________________?
  20. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  21. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  22. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  24. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. march — the month
  3. march — music
  4. ground — a position
  5. march — the month
  6. mark — to pay attention
  7. tube — a container
  8. tube — the underground
  9. drill — the tool
  10. drill — army training
  11. mark — a grade
  12. present — the time now
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. mate — to breed
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. drill — a practice
  18. mark — a trace
  19. mate — a partner
  20. tube — in a tire
  21. mate — a friend
  22. present — a gift
  23. ground — the earth
  24. present — there

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