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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: squash · wake · bulb · march · rash · clip · coach · rest

  1. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  2. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  3. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  4. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  8. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  11. I've got to change the light ________________.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. Have you met the new head ________________?
  17. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  18. Don't do anything ________________.
  19. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  20. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  21. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  22. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  23. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  24. The light ________________ burned out.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — of a plant
  2. squash — the vegetable
  3. rash — on the skin
  4. rest — what's left
  5. march — music
  6. march — the month
  7. squash — the sport
  8. rest — a break
  9. clip — a video
  10. coach — pulled by horses
  11. bulb — for light
  12. clip — for paper
  13. march — the month
  14. rash — a series
  15. clip — to cut
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. wake — to stop sleeping
  18. rash — hasty
  19. rest — what's left
  20. wake — a trail
  21. squash — to crush
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. wake — before a funeral
  24. bulb — for light

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