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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: net · bat · roll · rash · club · lie · march · wax

  1. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. Don't do anything ________________.
  3. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  4. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  5. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  6. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  11. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  12. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  13. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  14. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  15. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  20. We're on a ________________ here.
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  23. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. rash — hasty
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. club — a group
  5. wax — for sculpting
  6. wax — to grow
  7. net — in sport
  8. bat — the animal
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. roll — a list
  11. lie — to recline
  12. rash — on the skin
  13. rash — a series
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. club — for dancing
  16. march — the month
  17. club — for golf
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. net — after costs
  20. roll — on a roll
  21. march — music
  22. net — for catching
  23. roll — a cake
  24. bat — in an idiom

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