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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: last · lie · bat · wind · stem · rest · march · can

  1. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  8. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  15. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  16. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  19. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. I would like to have a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. rest — what's left
  3. march — music
  4. last — to go on
  5. can — to be able to
  6. march — the month
  7. lie — to recline
  8. lie — an untruth
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. wind — moving air
  11. rest — what's left
  12. wind — moving air
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. stem — a stem cell
  15. can — a tin
  16. can — a tin
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. stem — to come from
  20. march — the month
  21. stem — of a plant
  22. last — final
  23. bat — the animal
  24. rest — a break

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