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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: march · bat · ball · drill · bass · wound · pit · cabinet

  1. The King held a masked ________________.
  2. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  3. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  4. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  5. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  9. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  10. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. What do you think of the new ________________?
  23. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  24. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a dance
  2. bass — low music
  3. pit — a fruit stone
  4. drill — army training
  5. drill — the tool
  6. bat — the animal
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. ball — a great time
  9. pit — a hole
  10. bass — the fish
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. cabinet — ministers
  13. march — the month
  14. pit — in a race
  15. march — music
  16. bass — the instrument
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. drill — a practice
  19. wound — an injury
  20. march — the month
  21. wound — an injury
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. ball — a round shape
  24. cabinet — a cupboard

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