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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 116 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. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  8. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  9. That was ________________ to happen.
  10. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  11. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  15. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  16. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  22. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  23. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  24. The moon will ________________ and wane.

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. wax — for sculpting
  4. march — the month
  5. shower — to wash
  6. mine — for digging
  7. fall — to drop
  8. rock — music
  9. bound — certain
  10. squash — to crush
  11. bound — tied together
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. squash — the sport
  15. rock — to move gently
  16. squash — the vegetable
  17. fall — the season
  18. wax — in the ear
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. march — music
  21. bound — obliged
  22. fall — to drop
  23. rock — a stone
  24. wax — to grow

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