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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. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  8. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  13. There's no middle ________________.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  17. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  22. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. shower — rain
  4. march — the month
  5. can — a tin
  6. ground — crushed
  7. track — to keep track
  8. track — a path
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. ground — the earth
  11. march — the month
  12. can — to be able to
  13. ground — a position
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. can — a tin
  17. present — there
  18. shower — to wash
  19. hide — animal skin
  20. mine — for digging
  21. hide — to keep secret
  22. present — the time now
  23. march — music
  24. track — a song

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