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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
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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: cue · degree · bound · drill · march · trunk · band · toast

  1. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  2. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  3. That was ________________ to happen.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  6. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  7. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  8. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  9. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  10. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  13. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  16. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  19. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  20. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a hint
  2. drill — the tool
  3. bound — certain
  4. degree — an amount
  5. bound — tied together
  6. drill — a practice
  7. cue — a signal
  8. bound — obliged
  9. toast — the most admired
  10. toast — a drink to someone
  11. march — music
  12. trunk — of a tree
  13. toast — bread
  14. band — a music group
  15. cue — for pool
  16. band — a rubber band
  17. degree — from a university
  18. band — a ring
  19. trunk — of a car
  20. trunk — of an elephant
  21. degree — temperature
  22. drill — army training
  23. march — the month
  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