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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 do anything ________________.
  2. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  7. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  18. I can't ________________ this cold.
  19. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  20. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  21. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. squash — to crush
  3. clip — a video
  4. bore — gave birth
  5. march — the month
  6. bore — to drill
  7. rash — a series
  8. shower — to wash
  9. march — music
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. last — to go on
  12. clip — to cut
  13. shower — rain
  14. stand — on your feet
  15. last — finally
  16. last — final
  17. squash — the sport
  18. stand — to bear
  19. rash — on the skin
  20. bore — to tire
  21. stand — for spectators
  22. march — the month
  23. squash — the vegetable
  24. clip — for paper

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