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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. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  5. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  6. You don't need to ________________ round.
  7. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  8. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  11. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  12. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  13. This piece is in a major ________________.
  14. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  21. We're almost out of ________________.
  22. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. That must've been a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. march — music
  3. last — final
  4. squash — the sport
  5. squash — the vegetable
  6. pop — to visit
  7. rush — hurry
  8. key — the most important part
  9. file — a document
  10. squash — to crush
  11. key — for a lock
  12. rock — music
  13. key — in music
  14. rock — a stone
  15. last — finally
  16. file — a line of people
  17. file — a tool
  18. rush — to hurry
  19. last — to go on
  20. pop — music
  21. pop — soda
  22. rock — to move gently
  23. march — the month
  24. rush — a thrill

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