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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: rule · last · lash · march · mine · hand · rash · coach

  1. False peace will not ________________.
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  4. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  5. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  10. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  11. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. Have you met the new head ________________?
  14. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  17. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. Don't do anything ________________.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. I seem to be developing a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. march — the month
  3. rule — government
  4. rash — a series
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. mine — for digging
  7. march — music
  8. last — finally
  9. lash — to lash out
  10. lash — an eyelash
  11. lash — a whip stroke
  12. hand — in cards
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. rule — a law
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. rule — to rule out
  17. coach — pulled by horses
  18. hand — help
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. rash — hasty
  21. last — final
  22. march — the month
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. rash — on the skin

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