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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: march · rest · charge · last · snap · hand · rash · key

  1. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  5. This piece is in a major ________________.
  6. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  7. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  13. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  14. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  15. The tickets are free of ________________.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. Don't do anything ________________.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  21. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  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 — final
  2. snap — to click
  3. march — the month
  4. key — the most important part
  5. key — in music
  6. rest — what's left
  7. rash — a series
  8. march — the month
  9. charge — in control
  10. hand — help
  11. hand — in cards
  12. snap — to snap out of it
  13. key — for a lock
  14. charge — electricity
  15. charge — a price
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. rash — hasty
  18. last — finally
  19. last — to go on
  20. snap — to speak sharply
  21. rash — on the skin
  22. march — music
  23. rest — what's left
  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