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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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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: squash · saw · march · firm · rash · lean · last · tear

  1. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  3. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  4. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  5. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  6. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  7. Don't do anything ________________.
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. She's very handy with a ________________.
  10. He works in a ________________ mill.
  11. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  12. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  18. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  21. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. lean — thin
  3. lean — to bend
  4. squash — the vegetable
  5. squash — the sport
  6. firm — steady
  7. rash — hasty
  8. march — the month
  9. saw — the tool
  10. saw — the tool
  11. rash — a series
  12. lean — to rest against
  13. tear — from crying
  14. tear — from crying
  15. firm — decided
  16. last — finally
  17. firm — a company
  18. rash — on the skin
  19. march — music
  20. saw — past of 'see'
  21. squash — to crush
  22. tear — to rip
  23. march — the month
  24. last — to go on

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