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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 120 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. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  2. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  3. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  6. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  9. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  10. When was this ________________ built?
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  15. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  16. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. march — the month
  3. bowl — a dish
  4. march — the month
  5. drill — army training
  6. bowl — to roll
  7. cold — not warm
  8. temple — side of the head
  9. drill — the tool
  10. temple — a place of worship
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. march — music
  14. fan — to cool the air
  15. drill — a practice
  16. temple — a place of worship
  17. cold — an illness
  18. bowl — a football final

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