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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. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  5. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. That must've been a ________________.
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. Don't do anything ________________.
  11. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  12. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  16. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  17. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  18. Have you met the new head ________________?
  19. The King held a masked ________________.
  20. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  21. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. rash — a series
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. pitch — a sales talk
  5. pitch — a sports field
  6. march — the month
  7. rush — a thrill
  8. march — the month
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. rash — hasty
  11. ball — a round shape
  12. ball — a great time
  13. bark — to shout
  14. game — a match
  15. pitch — completely
  16. coach — pulled by horses
  17. rush — to hurry
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. ball — a dance
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. rash — on the skin
  22. game — wild animals
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. march — music

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