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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. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  3. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  7. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  10. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  11. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  17. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  18. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  22. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. rash — on the skin
  3. wake — to stop sleeping
  4. march — the month
  5. march — music
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. kick — in football
  8. bat — the animal
  9. squash — to crush
  10. patient — calm and waiting
  11. wake — a trail
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. march — the month
  14. kick — a thrill
  15. last — final
  16. squash — the vegetable
  17. squash — the sport
  18. wake — before a funeral
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. last — to go on
  21. rash — a series
  22. kick — with a leg
  23. last — finally
  24. patient — a sick person

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