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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. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. We're almost out of ________________.
  4. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  5. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  6. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  7. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. How do you ________________ your surname?
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. You don't need to ________________ round.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  17. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  20. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. This piece is in a major ________________.
  23. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — rain
  2. march — the month
  3. pop — soda
  4. key — for a lock
  5. spell — magic
  6. pop — music
  7. foot — the bottom
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. spell — a short time
  10. spell — letters
  11. content — happy
  12. foot — a measure
  13. shower — to wash
  14. pop — to visit
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. track — a song
  17. track — to keep track
  18. content — the amount
  19. key — the most important part
  20. track — a path
  21. march — music
  22. key — in music
  23. foot — part of the body
  24. march — the month

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