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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 116 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: mug · face · spell · drill · cold · net · rule · march

  1. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  2. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  6. Where did you ________________ them?
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  9. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  10. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  19. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  22. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  23. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  24. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — a practice
  2. march — the month
  3. spell — letters
  4. net — after costs
  5. drill — the tool
  6. mug — to rob
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. rule — to rule out
  9. face — to point toward
  10. face — part of the head
  11. march — the month
  12. spell — magic
  13. net — for catching
  14. cold — an illness
  15. march — music
  16. mug — a cup
  17. net — in sport
  18. mug — a face
  19. spell — a short time
  20. cold — not warm
  21. face — to confront
  22. rule — a law
  23. rule — government
  24. drill — army training

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