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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: pass · march · drill · fan · cell · lean · wound · mark

  1. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  2. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  9. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  10. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  15. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  16. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  17. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  18. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  22. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  23. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  24. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — thin
  2. march — the month
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. lean — to bend
  5. march — the month
  6. drill — a practice
  7. cell — in biology
  8. pass — a permit
  9. pass — to spend time
  10. mark — to pay attention
  11. wound — an injury
  12. mark — a trace
  13. march — music
  14. lean — to rest against
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. drill — army training
  17. fan — to cool the air
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. cell — a phone
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. pass — to succeed
  22. mark — a grade
  23. wound — an injury
  24. drill — the tool

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