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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 hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  10. The tickets are free of ________________.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  13. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  18. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  19. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. She got the top ________________ in the exam.

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. march — the month
  4. march — the month
  5. mark — to pay attention
  6. clip — to cut
  7. fan — to cool the air
  8. clip — for paper
  9. mark — a trace
  10. charge — a price
  11. shower — rain
  12. dip — to sink
  13. charge — electricity
  14. hand — help
  15. charge — in control
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. dip — to dunk
  18. dip — a sauce
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. clip — a video
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. hand — in cards
  23. shower — to wash
  24. mark — a grade

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