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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. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  6. The light ________________ burned out.
  7. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  19. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  20. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  21. I've got to change the light ________________.
  22. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  23. When was this ________________ built?
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. wind — moving air
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. shower — to wash
  5. bulb — of a plant
  6. bulb — for light
  7. cap — a hat
  8. bat — the animal
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. temple — a place of worship
  11. march — the month
  12. shower — rain
  13. cap — a lid
  14. march — the month
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. temple — side of the head
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. cap — of ice
  19. trunk — of a car
  20. trunk — of an elephant
  21. bulb — for light
  22. trunk — of a tree
  23. temple — a place of worship
  24. wind — moving air

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