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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: trunk · march · squash · firm · rock · bat · face · rush

  1. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. That must've been a ________________.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  6. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  7. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  8. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  9. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  10. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  11. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  12. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  15. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  16. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  17. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  18. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  19. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. Take your time. There's no ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. rush — a thrill
  3. march — the month
  4. march — the month
  5. rock — a stone
  6. face — to point toward
  7. squash — the sport
  8. firm — a company
  9. squash — the vegetable
  10. firm — decided
  11. trunk — of an elephant
  12. trunk — of a tree
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. squash — to crush
  15. trunk — of a car
  16. rush — to hurry
  17. face — part of the head
  18. firm — steady
  19. face — to confront
  20. march — music
  21. rock — to move gently
  22. bat — the animal
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. rush — hurry

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