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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 band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  5. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  6. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  11. That must've been a ________________.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  15. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  16. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. march — music
  3. march — the month
  4. rock — to move gently
  5. rock — a stone
  6. fall — the season
  7. last — final
  8. rush — to hurry
  9. march — the month
  10. foot — a measure
  11. rush — a thrill
  12. spring — a coil
  13. band — a music group
  14. fall — to drop
  15. foot — the bottom
  16. rock — music
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. band — a ring
  19. last — finally
  20. foot — part of the body
  21. spring — the season
  22. spring — of water
  23. last — to go on
  24. fall — to drop

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