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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: march · track · last · fine · spring · racket · lash · rash

  1. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  6. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  7. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  8. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  13. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  14. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  15. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  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. rash — hasty
  2. fine — high quality
  3. last — finally
  4. march — music
  5. fine — all right
  6. track — a song
  7. track — a path
  8. fine — a penalty
  9. spring — the season
  10. racket — a loud noise
  11. spring — a coil
  12. lash — an eyelash
  13. track — to keep track
  14. lash — a whip stroke
  15. rash — a series
  16. last — final
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. last — to go on
  19. march — the month
  20. march — the month
  21. lash — to lash out
  22. spring — of water
  23. racket — for tennis
  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