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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 120 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. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. Where did you ________________ them?
  17. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  18. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  21. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  22. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. shower — rain
  3. chest — of your body
  4. staff — a stick
  5. march — the month
  6. march — music
  7. shower — to wash
  8. club — for dancing
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. mug — a cup
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. mark — to pay attention
  13. kid — to tease
  14. mug — a face
  15. kid — child
  16. mug — to rob
  17. club — a group
  18. club — for golf
  19. chest — of your body
  20. mark — a grade
  21. staff — employees
  22. mark — a trace
  23. chest — a box
  24. staff — employees

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