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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. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  3. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. My mare is ________________ in color.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  13. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. The polar ice ________________ is melting.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. lie — to recline
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. march — the month
  5. last — to go on
  6. cap — a hat
  7. last — final
  8. lie — an untruth
  9. last — finally
  10. bay — a horse colour
  11. march — music
  12. cap — a lid
  13. bay — a part of the sea
  14. shower — to wash
  15. bay — to keep at bay
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. shower — rain
  18. cap — of ice

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