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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. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  8. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  9. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  12. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  13. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  14. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  15. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  16. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  17. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  20. Don't do anything ________________.
  21. We're on a ________________ here.
  22. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  23. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  24. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. net — for catching
  2. march — the month
  3. wind — moving air
  4. march — music
  5. net — after costs
  6. wind — moving air
  7. rash — a series
  8. club — for golf
  9. roll — a cake
  10. march — the month
  11. jam — in traffic
  12. club — for dancing
  13. net — in sport
  14. jam — a tight spot
  15. rash — on the skin
  16. wake — to stop sleeping
  17. jam — to spread on bread
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. roll — a list
  20. rash — hasty
  21. roll — on a roll
  22. wake — before a funeral
  23. club — a group
  24. wake — a trail

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