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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's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  5. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  6. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  7. Have you met the new head ________________?
  8. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  11. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  12. The ________________ market has crashed.
  13. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  18. The King held a masked ________________.
  19. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  20. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  21. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  22. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  23. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  24. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. shower — to wash
  3. shower — rain
  4. coach — pulled by horses
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. drill — a practice
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. ball — a round shape
  9. march — the month
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. stock — goods
  12. stock — shares
  13. stock — a soup base
  14. march — the month
  15. drill — army training
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. pit — a hole
  18. ball — a dance
  19. drill — the tool
  20. pit — in a race
  21. perch — the fish
  22. pit — a fruit stone
  23. ball — a great time
  24. perch — for a bird

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