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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 120 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: mate · spring · march · fan · firm · last · track · rash

  1. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  2. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  3. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  4. Have you found your soul ________________?
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  9. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  10. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  14. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  18. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  19. Don't do anything ________________.
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  22. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. mate — a friend
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. mate — a partner
  5. last — to go on
  6. mate — to breed
  7. last — finally
  8. rash — on the skin
  9. fan — to cool the air
  10. rash — a series
  11. spring — of water
  12. spring — a coil
  13. track — to keep track
  14. firm — a company
  15. spring — the season
  16. march — the month
  17. firm — decided
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. rash — hasty
  20. last — final
  21. track — a path
  22. track — a song
  23. march — the month
  24. firm — steady

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