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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: safe · march · cue · kid · fall · bark · drill · field

  1. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  4. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  9. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  17. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  18. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  19. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  24. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — a practice
  2. march — music
  3. cue — a hint
  4. fall — the season
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. safe — a strongbox
  7. march — the month
  8. fall — to drop
  9. cue — for pool
  10. kid — to tease
  11. field — farmland
  12. fall — to drop
  13. field — a subject
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. drill — the tool
  17. drill — army training
  18. safe — out of danger
  19. cue — a signal
  20. kid — child
  21. march — the month
  22. field — for sport
  23. safe — out of danger
  24. bark — to shout

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