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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 120 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: drill · tube · saw · pit · march · content · land · mark

  1. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  2. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  5. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  6. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  11. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  12. She's very handy with a ________________.
  13. I'll be taking the ________________.
  14. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  17. He works in a ________________ mill.
  18. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  24. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — army training
  2. mark — a grade
  3. march — the month
  4. pit — a fruit stone
  5. drill — the tool
  6. mark — a trace
  7. march — the month
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. land — to come down
  10. drill — a practice
  11. pit — a hole
  12. saw — the tool
  13. tube — the underground
  14. pit — in a race
  15. march — music
  16. mark — to pay attention
  17. saw — the tool
  18. tube — a container
  19. land — a country
  20. content — the amount
  21. content — happy
  22. land — ground
  23. tube — in a tire
  24. saw — past of 'see'

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