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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. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. It's one o'clock ________________.
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  8. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  13. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  14. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  15. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  16. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  17. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  18. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  19. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  20. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. sharp — exactly
  3. shower — rain
  4. cap — of ice
  5. court — for sport
  6. court — of a king
  7. wave — with your hand
  8. staff — employees
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. wave — a sudden rise
  11. march — the month
  12. staff — employees
  13. sharp — clever
  14. cap — a hat
  15. cap — a lid
  16. wave — of the sea
  17. firm — steady
  18. firm — decided
  19. firm — a company
  20. sharp — with an edge
  21. march — the month
  22. court — of law
  23. staff — a stick
  24. march — music

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