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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: dip · craft · cold · squash · last · bat · fall · march

  1. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  10. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  13. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  18. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  22. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  23. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  24. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. cold — an illness
  3. squash — the sport
  4. march — music
  5. last — finally
  6. last — final
  7. dip — to dunk
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. craft — a handicraft
  10. craft — a skill
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. fall — the season
  13. fall — to drop
  14. last — to go on
  15. squash — to crush
  16. bat — the animal
  17. squash — the vegetable
  18. fall — to drop
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. cold — not warm
  21. dip — to sink
  22. craft — boats
  23. dip — a sauce
  24. march — the month

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