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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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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: rash · club · pitch · bat · snap · shower · march · key

  1. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  2. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. This piece is in a major ________________.
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  9. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  10. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. Don't do anything ________________.
  16. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  17. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — a series
  2. club — for dancing
  3. march — the month
  4. key — in music
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. key — the most important part
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. rash — on the skin
  9. key — for a lock
  10. pitch — a sports field
  11. shower — rain
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. pitch — completely
  14. march — music
  15. rash — hasty
  16. snap — to click
  17. club — for golf
  18. march — the month
  19. bat — the animal
  20. club — a group
  21. shower — to wash
  22. pitch — a sales talk
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. bat — in an idiom

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