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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.

Make a worksheet

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. That was a fun ________________.
  2. Don't do anything ________________.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. The ________________ went through the wall.
  6. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  7. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  8. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  9. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  10. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  11. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  16. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  17. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  18. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  19. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  22. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  24. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. rash — hasty
  3. march — the month
  4. march — music
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. drill — the tool
  7. perch — the fish
  8. lash — to lash out
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. lash — a whip stroke
  12. march — the month
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. rash — a series
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. hide — animal skin
  18. rash — on the skin
  19. drill — a practice
  20. game — wild animals
  21. lash — an eyelash
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. drill — army training
  24. nail — on a finger

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