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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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 · clip · stick · ball · hide · rash · game · squash

  1. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. The King held a masked ________________.
  4. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  5. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  6. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  7. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  11. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  12. Don't do anything ________________.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  17. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  20. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  21. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  22. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  23. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. march — music
  3. ball — a dance
  4. hide — animal skin
  5. rash — a series
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. ball — a round shape
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. clip — to cut
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. stick — to attach or keep to
  12. rash — hasty
  13. clip — for paper
  14. clip — a video
  15. game — wild animals
  16. squash — the sport
  17. ball — a great time
  18. game — a match
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. rash — on the skin
  21. squash — to crush
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. squash — the vegetable
  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