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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 116 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. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  2. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  3. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  4. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  5. That must've been a ________________.
  6. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  9. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  12. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  17. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  18. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  19. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  20. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. You shouldn't ________________ things.

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. rush — hurry
  3. leaves — lets stay
  4. craft — boats
  5. rush — a thrill
  6. net — for catching
  7. snap — to click
  8. craft — a skill
  9. snap — to speak sharply
  10. cold — not warm
  11. craft — a handicraft
  12. leaves — of a tree
  13. march — the month
  14. leaves — to go away
  15. march — the month
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. net — after costs
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. net — in sport
  20. snap — to snap out of it
  21. cold — an illness
  22. fan — to cool the air
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. rush — to hurry

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