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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: rash · snap · march · prune · swing · jam · firm · land

  1. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  6. Don't do anything ________________.
  7. David sat on the ________________.
  8. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  13. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  14. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  15. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  16. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  17. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  18. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  19. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  24. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — steady
  2. march — music
  3. jam — a tight spot
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. jam — to spread on bread
  6. rash — hasty
  7. swing — to play on
  8. snap — to speak sharply
  9. march — the month
  10. snap — to click
  11. land — ground
  12. firm — a company
  13. prune — to trim
  14. swing — in golf
  15. firm — decided
  16. prune — to trim
  17. swing — music
  18. rash — a series
  19. snap — to snap out of it
  20. march — the month
  21. land — a country
  22. land — to come down
  23. rash — on the skin
  24. jam — in traffic

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