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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. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  2. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  3. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. The ________________ market has crashed.
  10. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  13. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  16. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  19. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  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. march — music
  2. drill — army training
  3. drill — a practice
  4. hand — help
  5. shower — rain
  6. march — the month
  7. spring — the season
  8. band — a ring
  9. stock — shares
  10. fine — all right
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. drill — the tool
  13. fine — high quality
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. stock — goods
  16. band — a rubber band
  17. march — the month
  18. fine — a penalty
  19. stock — a soup base
  20. spring — a coil
  21. band — a music group
  22. hand — in cards
  23. spring — of water
  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