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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 · squash · racket · wind · rule · bass · tube · lean

  1. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  5. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  6. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  7. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  8. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  9. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  10. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  11. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  12. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  13. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  14. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  15. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  16. I'll be taking the ________________.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  19. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  20. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. rule — a law
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. lean — thin
  5. lean — to rest against
  6. bass — the fish
  7. rule — to rule out
  8. bass — low music
  9. racket — a loud noise
  10. tube — in a tire
  11. rule — government
  12. squash — the sport
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. squash — the vegetable
  15. bass — the instrument
  16. tube — the underground
  17. wind — moving air
  18. tube — a container
  19. squash — to crush
  20. lean — to bend
  21. march — music
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. march — the month
  24. march — the month

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