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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. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  2. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  3. Don't do anything ________________.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  9. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  10. The ________________ went through the wall.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  13. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  14. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  15. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. squash — the sport
  3. rash — hasty
  4. march — the month
  5. content — happy
  6. squash — to crush
  7. spring — a coil
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. march — music
  12. rash — a series
  13. rash — on the skin
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. racket — a loud noise
  16. content — the amount
  17. squash — the vegetable
  18. spring — the season
  19. last — final
  20. last — to go on
  21. spring — of water
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. nail — on a finger
  24. last — finally

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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