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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 120 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: lash · board · rash · chest · track · spring · march · bat

  1. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. Don't do anything ________________.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  10. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  11. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  14. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  15. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  20. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a song
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. track — a path
  4. chest — of your body
  5. march — the month
  6. rash — hasty
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. spring — a coil
  9. board — a committee
  10. lash — an eyelash
  11. board — to get on
  12. march — the month
  13. lash — a whip stroke
  14. rash — a series
  15. lash — to lash out
  16. spring — of water
  17. march — music
  18. bat — the animal
  19. track — to keep track
  20. board — a flat piece
  21. chest — a box
  22. rash — on the skin
  23. spring — the season
  24. chest — of your 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