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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 · drill · march · plane · temple · kid · current · lash

  1. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  2. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  3. The ________________ took off on time.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  6. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  7. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  8. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  11. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  12. When was this ________________ built?
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  17. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  18. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. current — happening now
  2. march — the month
  3. plane — an aircraft
  4. kid — child
  5. lash — to lash out
  6. drill — a practice
  7. current — electric
  8. lash — an eyelash
  9. march — the month
  10. drill — the tool
  11. plane — in geometry
  12. temple — a place of worship
  13. kid — to tease
  14. temple — side of the head
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. lash — a whip stroke
  17. current — of water
  18. temple — a place of worship
  19. march — music
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. plane — a tool
  22. wound — an injury
  23. drill — army training
  24. wound — an injury

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