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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 · pit · mark · rule · face · wake · squash · kid

  1. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  2. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  4. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  5. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  8. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  9. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  10. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  15. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  16. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  17. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  18. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  19. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  22. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  23. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  24. She got the top ________________ in the exam.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to point toward
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. pit — a fruit stone
  4. face — to confront
  5. rule — to rule out
  6. march — music
  7. wake — a trail
  8. squash — the vegetable
  9. squash — to crush
  10. squash — the sport
  11. kid — child
  12. kid — to tease
  13. march — the month
  14. wake — before a funeral
  15. mark — a trace
  16. face — part of the head
  17. wake — to stop sleeping
  18. pit — a hole
  19. pit — in a race
  20. march — the month
  21. rule — a law
  22. rule — government
  23. mark — to pay attention
  24. mark — a grade

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