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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 120 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.

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: fall · march · arm · ball · cabinet · snap · spring · squash

  1. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  2. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  5. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  6. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  7. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  10. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. What do you think of the new ________________?
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. The King held a masked ________________.
  19. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  20. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  21. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  22. My father caught me by the ________________.
  23. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  24. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a great time
  2. squash — the sport
  3. snap — to click
  4. cabinet — ministers
  5. snap — to speak sharply
  6. cabinet — a cupboard
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. spring — the season
  9. snap — to snap out of it
  10. fall — to drop
  11. march — the month
  12. march — the month
  13. ball — a round shape
  14. spring — a coil
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. spring — of water
  17. march — music
  18. ball — a dance
  19. fall — the season
  20. squash — to crush
  21. fall — to drop
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. squash — the vegetable
  24. arm — a part of something

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