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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. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  3. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  7. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  10. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  11. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  12. This piece is in a major ________________.
  13. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  14. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. That must've been a ________________.
  21. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. leaves — to go away
  3. leaves — lets stay
  4. march — the month
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. fine — all right
  7. key — the most important part
  8. bark — to shout
  9. key — for a lock
  10. lash — to lash out
  11. lash — a whip stroke
  12. key — in music
  13. rush — to hurry
  14. fine — a penalty
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. march — the month
  17. leaves — of a tree
  18. bat — the animal
  19. march — music
  20. rush — a thrill
  21. lash — an eyelash
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. fine — high quality
  24. bat — for baseball

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