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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 · snap · mark · dip · bat · band · temple · rash

  1. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  8. When was this ________________ built?
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  11. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  12. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  13. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  14. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  15. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  18. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  19. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  23. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. band — a ring
  3. march — music
  4. band — a music group
  5. temple — side of the head
  6. march — the month
  7. snap — to snap out of it
  8. temple — a place of worship
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. snap — to speak sharply
  11. temple — a place of worship
  12. rash — a series
  13. rash — on the skin
  14. mark — a grade
  15. dip — to dunk
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. snap — to click
  18. mark — to pay attention
  19. dip — a sauce
  20. march — the month
  21. bat — the animal
  22. dip — to sink
  23. mark — a trace
  24. band — a rubber band

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