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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: spell · arm · march · cell · drill · bowl · band · pitcher

  1. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  2. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  3. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  8. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  13. My father caught me by the ________________.
  14. He is an ace ________________.
  15. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  19. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  22. How do you ________________ your surname?
  23. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  24. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — to roll
  2. bowl — a dish
  3. drill — army training
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. march — music
  6. band — a music group
  7. arm — a part of something
  8. bowl — a football final
  9. cell — in biology
  10. spell — magic
  11. march — the month
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. pitcher — in baseball
  15. drill — the tool
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. spell — a short time
  18. drill — a practice
  19. band — a ring
  20. march — the month
  21. arm — part of the body
  22. spell — letters
  23. cell — a phone
  24. pitcher — a jug

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