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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 dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  2. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  3. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  7. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  13. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  14. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  15. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  16. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  17. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  18. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  19. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  20. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — a meteor shower
  2. fan — to cool the air
  3. lash — to lash out
  4. march — the month
  5. court — of law
  6. club — a group
  7. pass — to succeed
  8. court — for sport
  9. march — music
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. march — the month
  12. pass — to spend time
  13. lash — a whip stroke
  14. snap — to snap out of it
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. pass — a permit
  17. snap — to click
  18. snap — to speak sharply
  19. club — for dancing
  20. lash — an eyelash
  21. court — of a king
  22. shower — to wash
  23. shower — rain
  24. club — for golf

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