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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. Have you settled on a ________________?
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  8. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  9. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  12. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  13. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  14. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  15. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  16. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  22. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  23. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  24. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. band — a music group
  3. march — music
  4. march — the month
  5. snap — to click
  6. march — the month
  7. bowl — a dish
  8. bowl — to roll
  9. snap — to speak sharply
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. dip — a sauce
  12. snap — to snap out of it
  13. leaves — of a tree
  14. date — the fruit
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. dip — to sink
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. shower — rain
  19. leaves — lets stay
  20. band — a ring
  21. bowl — a football final
  22. leaves — to go away
  23. dip — to dunk
  24. shower — to wash

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