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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.

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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 ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. That must've been a ________________.
  5. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  10. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  11. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  12. You don't need to ________________ round.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  17. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. We're almost out of ________________.
  23. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  24. It's one o'clock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. march — music
  3. last — finally
  4. rush — a thrill
  5. bank — for money
  6. march — the month
  7. capital — money
  8. march — the month
  9. bank — of a river
  10. sharp — with an edge
  11. bank — for money
  12. pop — to visit
  13. last — final
  14. capital — a city
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. rush — to hurry
  17. sharp — clever
  18. last — to go on
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. rush — hurry
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. pop — soda
  23. pop — music
  24. sharp — exactly

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