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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. Have you settled on a ________________?
  2. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  4. She's very handy with a ________________.
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  9. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. He works in a ________________ mill.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  14. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  15. He is an ace ________________.
  16. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  17. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  22. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. leaves — of a tree
  4. saw — the tool
  5. race — humankind
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. march — music
  8. squash — the vegetable
  9. leaves — lets stay
  10. march — the month
  11. saw — the tool
  12. march — the month
  13. saw — past of 'see'
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. pitcher — in baseball
  16. leaves — to go away
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. shower — to wash
  19. date — the fruit
  20. race — the arms race
  21. squash — the sport
  22. race — a contest
  23. shower — rain
  24. squash — to crush

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