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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 ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. Have you settled on a ________________?
  6. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  7. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  8. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  9. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  10. Don't do anything ________________.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  13. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. She's very handy with a ________________.
  17. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  18. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  19. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  20. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  21. He works in a ________________ mill.
  22. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  23. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  24. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to rest against
  2. march — music
  3. march — the month
  4. march — the month
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. date — the fruit
  7. lean — to bend
  8. rash — on the skin
  9. bass — the instrument
  10. rash — hasty
  11. file — a tool
  12. bank — for money
  13. bass — low music
  14. file — a line of people
  15. file — a document
  16. saw — the tool
  17. bank — of a river
  18. bass — the fish
  19. bank — for money
  20. rash — a series
  21. saw — the tool
  22. lean — thin
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. saw — past of 'see'

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