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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: march · rule · bank · scale · snap · cold

  1. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  5. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  6. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  7. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  10. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  11. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  12. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  13. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. scale — in music
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. snap — to speak sharply
  5. scale — for weighing
  6. rule — to rule out
  7. rule — a law
  8. cold — an illness
  9. bank — for money
  10. snap — to snap out of it
  11. bank — for money
  12. snap — to click
  13. bank — of a river
  14. march — the month
  15. scale — size or range
  16. cold — not warm
  17. march — music
  18. rule — government

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