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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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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. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. Don't do anything ________________.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  13. What do you think of the new ________________?
  14. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  17. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  18. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  21. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  22. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  23. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. last — to go on
  3. rash — hasty
  4. march — the month
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. spring — the season
  7. object — a thing
  8. spring — a coil
  9. last — finally
  10. last — final
  11. row — a line
  12. object — to protest
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. vault — an arched ceiling
  15. march — the month
  16. cabinet — a cupboard
  17. rash — a series
  18. object — an aim
  19. spring — of water
  20. vault — a safe
  21. rash — on the skin
  22. vault — in gymnastics
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. row — to paddle

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