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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: rush · squash · march · face · hand · nail · track · capital

  1. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  2. The ________________ went through the wall.
  3. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  10. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. That must've been a ________________.
  19. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  20. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  23. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. rush — to hurry
  4. march — the month
  5. squash — the sport
  6. hand — help
  7. squash — the vegetable
  8. hand — in cards
  9. track — to keep track
  10. nail — on a finger
  11. capital — a city
  12. squash — to crush
  13. track — a path
  14. march — the month
  15. rush — hurry
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. capital — money
  18. rush — a thrill
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. face — to point toward
  21. march — music
  22. face — part of the head
  23. track — a song
  24. hand — part of the body

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