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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: racket · march · face · prune · hand · drill · net · roll

  1. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  2. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  6. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  12. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  15. We're on a ________________ here.
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  19. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  20. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  21. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  22. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  23. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. drill — the tool
  3. march — the month
  4. prune — to trim
  5. racket — a loud noise
  6. face — to point toward
  7. net — after costs
  8. march — music
  9. face — part of the head
  10. hand — in cards
  11. roll — a list
  12. face — to confront
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. roll — on a roll
  16. net — for catching
  17. hand — help
  18. net — in sport
  19. drill — army training
  20. roll — a cake
  21. prune — the fruit
  22. drill — a practice
  23. prune — to trim
  24. march — the month

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