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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. When are we going to ________________?
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. When will it ________________ you to start?
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. Don't do anything ________________.
  6. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  10. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  18. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. march — music
  3. suit — to fit
  4. land — ground
  5. rash — hasty
  6. suit — clothes
  7. net — for catching
  8. hand — help
  9. net — in sport
  10. suit — in cards
  11. march — the month
  12. rash — a series
  13. march — the month
  14. hand — in cards
  15. land — a country
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. rash — on the skin
  18. net — after costs

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