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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.

Make a worksheet

Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
468
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: pitcher · object · march · last · fall · kick · clip · rash

  1. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  4. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  7. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  8. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  9. He is an ace ________________.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  14. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  15. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  16. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. Don't do anything ________________.
  24. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. last — to go on
  3. kick — in football
  4. fall — the season
  5. clip — to cut
  6. fall — to drop
  7. rash — on the skin
  8. kick — a thrill
  9. pitcher — in baseball
  10. last — final
  11. object — to protest
  12. last — finally
  13. object — a thing
  14. rash — a series
  15. kick — with a leg
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. march — music
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. march — the month
  20. object — an aim
  21. clip — a video
  22. clip — for paper
  23. rash — hasty
  24. fall — to drop

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