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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. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  9. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  10. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  11. How do you ________________ your surname?
  12. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  13. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  16. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  17. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. object — a thing
  3. march — music
  4. object — to protest
  5. shower — rain
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. march — the month
  8. bass — low music
  9. object — an aim
  10. bass — the instrument
  11. spell — letters
  12. stick — to attach or keep to
  13. drill — the tool
  14. march — the month
  15. drill — a practice
  16. spell — magic
  17. drill — army training
  18. spell — a short time
  19. stick — a piece of wood
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. stick — a piece of wood
  22. game — a match
  23. bass — the fish
  24. game — wild animals

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