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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 116 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. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  3. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  7. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  8. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  9. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  10. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  11. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  12. That must've been a ________________.
  13. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  14. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  15. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  16. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  17. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  20. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  21. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. Don't do anything ________________.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. bass — low music
  3. rash — on the skin
  4. march — the month
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. rash — a series
  7. drill — army training
  8. rush — hurry
  9. prune — to trim
  10. drill — the tool
  11. bass — the instrument
  12. rush — a thrill
  13. bass — the fish
  14. snap — to speak sharply
  15. prune — to trim
  16. rush — to hurry
  17. drill — a practice
  18. march — music
  19. snap — to click
  20. snap — to snap out of it
  21. prune — the fruit
  22. cold — an illness
  23. rash — hasty
  24. cold — not warm

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