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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: jam · rest · hide · bat · march · roll · board · firm

  1. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  2. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  3. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  4. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  5. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  6. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  7. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  8. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  9. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  10. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  15. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  16. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  17. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  20. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. We're on a ________________ here.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — a cake
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. jam — in traffic
  4. firm — a company
  5. firm — steady
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. roll — a list
  8. board — a committee
  9. hide — animal skin
  10. board — a flat piece
  11. march — the month
  12. firm — decided
  13. march — the month
  14. board — to get on
  15. jam — a tight spot
  16. jam — to spread on bread
  17. rest — what's left
  18. bat — the animal
  19. rest — a break
  20. rest — what's left
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. roll — on a roll
  23. march — music
  24. bat — in an idiom

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