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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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Word bank
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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: fine · march · ruler · rush · hand · toast · cell · kid

  1. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  2. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. That must've been a ________________.
  5. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  16. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  17. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  21. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  22. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  23. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  24. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  2. toast — a drink to someone
  3. march — music
  4. rush — a thrill
  5. fine — a penalty
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. hand — in cards
  8. march — the month
  9. hand — help
  10. toast — bread
  11. cell — in biology
  12. rush — to hurry
  13. kid — child
  14. march — the month
  15. fine — all right
  16. rush — hurry
  17. ruler — a monarch
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. kid — to tease
  20. cell — a phone
  21. fine — high quality
  22. ruler — for measuring
  23. ruler — for measuring
  24. toast — the most admired

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