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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: hand · rest · face · craft · rush · mark · bass · march

  1. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  2. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  5. That must've been a ________________.
  6. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  7. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  8. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  13. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  14. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  15. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  16. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  21. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  22. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — to pay attention
  2. craft — a skill
  3. hand — in cards
  4. rest — what's left
  5. rush — a thrill
  6. rush — to hurry
  7. bass — the fish
  8. craft — boats
  9. hand — help
  10. rush — hurry
  11. march — the month
  12. face — to confront
  13. craft — a handicraft
  14. rest — a break
  15. face — part of the head
  16. bass — the instrument
  17. march — the month
  18. bass — low music
  19. march — music
  20. rest — what's left
  21. mark — a grade
  22. mark — a trace
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. face — to point toward

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