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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 · rash · cold · spring · suit · race · nail · perch

  1. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. Don't do anything ________________.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. The ________________ went through the wall.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  12. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  16. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. When will it ________________ you to start?
  19. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  23. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  24. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. rash — hasty
  4. cold — not warm
  5. nail — on a finger
  6. race — humankind
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. spring — the season
  9. race — the arms race
  10. spring — a coil
  11. suit — in cards
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. march — music
  14. march — the month
  15. suit — clothes
  16. rash — on the skin
  17. race — a contest
  18. suit — to fit
  19. rash — a series
  20. spring — of water
  21. cold — an illness
  22. perch — the fish
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. perch — for a bird

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