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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: chest · hide · march · bat · bowl · bay · prune · rash

  1. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  7. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  8. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. My mare is ________________ in color.
  14. Don't do anything ________________.
  15. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  16. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  17. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  18. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  19. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  20. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  23. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  24. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — the fruit
  2. march — music
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. chest — of your body
  5. chest — of your body
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. bay — a part of the sea
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. march — the month
  10. march — the month
  11. bat — the animal
  12. chest — a box
  13. bay — a horse colour
  14. rash — hasty
  15. rash — on the skin
  16. bowl — to roll
  17. bay — to keep at bay
  18. hide — animal skin
  19. prune — to trim
  20. bowl — a dish
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. prune — to trim
  23. bowl — a football final
  24. rash — a series

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