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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.

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: bat · march · sharp · squash · racket · leaves · file · rush

  1. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  3. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  4. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  5. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  6. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  9. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  10. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  11. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. That must've been a ________________.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. It's one o'clock ________________.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  23. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  24. The ________________ change colour in autumn.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. squash — to crush
  3. sharp — with an edge
  4. file — a document
  5. leaves — to go away
  6. racket — a loud noise
  7. file — a tool
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. squash — the vegetable
  10. rush — to hurry
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. bat — the animal
  13. rush — a thrill
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. squash — the sport
  17. march — music
  18. march — the month
  19. sharp — exactly
  20. file — a line of people
  21. march — the month
  22. leaves — lets stay
  23. sharp — clever
  24. leaves — of a tree

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