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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: roll · march · last · capital · wake · snap · rush · mark

  1. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  2. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. That must've been a ________________.
  5. We're on a ________________ here.
  6. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  7. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  20. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — before a funeral
  2. mark — a grade
  3. snap — to click
  4. rush — a thrill
  5. roll — on a roll
  6. roll — a cake
  7. snap — to snap out of it
  8. march — the month
  9. last — finally
  10. mark — a trace
  11. capital — a city
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. rush — hurry
  14. capital — money
  15. wake — to stop sleeping
  16. march — music
  17. roll — a list
  18. last — final
  19. wake — a trail
  20. rush — to hurry
  21. last — to go on
  22. snap — to speak sharply
  23. march — the month
  24. mark — to pay attention

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