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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. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  2. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  3. Did you ________________ the meat?
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  7. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  8. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. That must've been a ________________.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  19. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  20. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  21. The ________________ market has crashed.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  24. 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. shower — rain
  2. stock — a soup base
  3. season — to add flavour
  4. capital — a city
  5. band — a music group
  6. board — a flat piece
  7. board — to get on
  8. rush — hurry
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. band — a ring
  11. stock — goods
  12. march — the month
  13. rush — a thrill
  14. shower — to wash
  15. capital — money
  16. march — music
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. board — a committee
  19. season — in sport
  20. season — of the year
  21. stock — shares
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. rush — to hurry
  24. 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