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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. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  2. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  6. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  9. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  18. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. Have you settled on a ________________?
  21. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  22. David sat on the ________________.
  23. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — rain
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. face — part of the head
  4. march — music
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. face — to point toward
  7. march — the month
  8. date — the fruit
  9. face — to confront
  10. spring — of water
  11. last — finally
  12. spring — a coil
  13. perch — the fish
  14. spring — the season
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. march — the month
  17. swing — music
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. shower — to wash
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. swing — in golf
  22. swing — to play on
  23. last — final
  24. last — to go on

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