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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 · rush · band · mouse · roll · swing · prune · lie

  1. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  3. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  4. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  5. We're on a ________________ here.
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. That must've been a ________________.
  10. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  13. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. David sat on the ________________.
  17. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  20. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  21. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  22. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  23. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  24. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. lie — to recline
  3. prune — to trim
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. roll — on a roll
  6. march — music
  7. band — a ring
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. rush — a thrill
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. march — the month
  12. rush — to hurry
  13. swing — in golf
  14. march — the month
  15. band — a music group
  16. swing — to play on
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. roll — a list
  20. mouse — the animal
  21. prune — to trim
  22. mouse — for a computer
  23. swing — music
  24. roll — a cake

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