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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 ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  2. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  7. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  8. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  9. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  10. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  11. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  12. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  13. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  19. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  20. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  21. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  22. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  23. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  24. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — to lash out
  2. track — a path
  3. march — music
  4. march — the month
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. lash — a whip stroke
  7. lash — an eyelash
  8. kick — a thrill
  9. trunk — of a car
  10. track — a song
  11. track — to keep track
  12. trunk — of an elephant
  13. face — to confront
  14. band — a music group
  15. drill — army training
  16. march — the month
  17. drill — the tool
  18. band — a ring
  19. face — part of the head
  20. trunk — of a tree
  21. kick — with a leg
  22. face — to point toward
  23. drill — a practice
  24. kick — in football

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