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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: perch · hide · wake · march · last · rush · hand · lean

  1. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  3. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  8. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  11. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  14. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  15. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  16. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  19. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. That must've been a ________________.
  24. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. rush — hurry
  3. perch — the fish
  4. march — the month
  5. hide — animal skin
  6. march — music
  7. wake — a trail
  8. lean — thin
  9. march — the month
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. lean — to rest against
  14. wake — before a funeral
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. hand — help
  18. rush — to hurry
  19. lean — to bend
  20. hand — in cards
  21. last — final
  22. last — to go on
  23. rush — a thrill
  24. wake — to stop sleeping

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