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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. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  8. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  16. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. Have you met the new head ________________?
  19. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  20. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  21. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  22. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  23. That must've been a ________________.
  24. David sat on the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. march — music
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. march — the month
  5. rock — to move gently
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. rush — to hurry
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. march — the month
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. row — to paddle
  12. swing — in golf
  13. bat — the animal
  14. row — a line
  15. bark — to shout
  16. row — a quarrel
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. swing — music
  20. rock — a stone
  21. rock — music
  22. coach — pulled by horses
  23. rush — a thrill
  24. swing — to play on

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