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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. That must've been a ________________.
  2. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  3. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  9. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  10. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  11. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  12. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  13. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  14. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  15. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  16. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  17. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  24. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — a thrill
  2. rush — hurry
  3. rush — to hurry
  4. march — the month
  5. march — music
  6. mark — a grade
  7. last — final
  8. fine — all right
  9. vault — in gymnastics
  10. fine — high quality
  11. board — a flat piece
  12. vault — an arched ceiling
  13. scale — size or range
  14. vault — a safe
  15. board — a committee
  16. fine — a penalty
  17. board — to get on
  18. last — to go on
  19. scale — in music
  20. last — finally
  21. mark — a trace
  22. march — the month
  23. mark — to pay attention
  24. scale — for weighing

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