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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 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. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  5. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  6. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  9. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  10. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  11. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  12. Did you ________________ the meat?
  13. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  14. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  15. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. mouse — for a computer
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. fall — to drop
  6. lie — an untruth
  7. march — music
  8. fall — to drop
  9. season — of the year
  10. season — in sport
  11. mouse — the animal
  12. season — to add flavour
  13. fall — the season
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. lie — to recline
  16. shower — to wash
  17. shower — rain
  18. 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