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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 116 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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  3. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. You don't need to ________________ round.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  10. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. The King held a masked ________________.
  13. We're almost out of ________________.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. pop — music
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. land — ground
  6. pop — to visit
  7. shower — to wash
  8. march — the month
  9. ball — a great time
  10. ball — a round shape
  11. shower — rain
  12. ball — a dance
  13. pop — soda
  14. land — to come down
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. land — a country
  17. march — music
  18. stick — to attach or keep to

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