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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. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  12. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  13. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  17. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. present — there
  2. march — the month
  3. shower — rain
  4. game — wild animals
  5. track — a song
  6. march — the month
  7. track — to keep track
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. march — music
  11. chair — a leader
  12. chair — to sit on
  13. track — a path
  14. game — a match
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. present — the time now
  17. present — a gift
  18. shower — to wash

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