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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. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  2. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  10. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  19. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  20. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. What do you think of the new ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. leaves — lets stay
  3. chest — of your body
  4. lie — to recline
  5. game — wild animals
  6. shower — to wash
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. march — the month
  9. leaves — to go away
  10. cabinet — a cupboard
  11. shower — rain
  12. game — a match
  13. march — the month
  14. chest — of your body
  15. chest — a box
  16. band — a rubber band
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. leaves — of a tree
  19. cabinet — ministers
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. band — a ring
  23. band — a music group
  24. cabinet — ministers

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