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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: march · squash · fan · row · pit · wave · chest · snap

  1. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  2. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  7. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  10. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  11. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  12. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  13. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  14. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. snap — to click
  4. squash — the vegetable
  5. row — a line
  6. pit — a hole
  7. snap — to snap out of it
  8. chest — of your body
  9. pit — a fruit stone
  10. squash — to crush
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. wave — of the sea
  13. squash — the sport
  14. fan — to cool the air
  15. march — music
  16. wave — with your hand
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. chest — a box
  20. pit — in a race
  21. chest — of your body
  22. march — the month
  23. row — to paddle
  24. wave — a sudden rise

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