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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: wound · plane · drill · game · board · march · roll · pound

  1. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  7. We're on a ________________ here.
  8. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  9. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  10. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  11. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  12. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  13. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  14. The ________________ took off on time.
  15. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  16. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  17. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. wound — an injury
  4. wound — an injury
  5. game — wild animals
  6. drill — a practice
  7. roll — on a roll
  8. pound — for dogs
  9. board — a flat piece
  10. plane — a tool
  11. board — to get on
  12. pound — to hit hard
  13. plane — in geometry
  14. plane — an aircraft
  15. roll — a cake
  16. drill — the tool
  17. board — a committee
  18. march — music
  19. pound — a weight
  20. game — a match
  21. drill — army training
  22. march — the month
  23. roll — a list
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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