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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. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  3. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  4. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  12. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  13. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  14. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  15. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  16. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  17. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  20. How do you ________________ your surname?
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. The King held a masked ________________.
  23. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  24. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. march — the month
  3. firm — steady
  4. ball — a great time
  5. march — music
  6. content — happy
  7. shower — rain
  8. march — the month
  9. spell — magic
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. patient — calm and waiting
  13. ball — a round shape
  14. firm — decided
  15. leaves — to go away
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. leaves — lets stay
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. leaves — of a tree
  20. spell — letters
  21. content — the amount
  22. ball — a dance
  23. firm — a company
  24. spell — a short time

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