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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 ________________ change colour in autumn.
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  8. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  9. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  12. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  13. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — of a tree
  2. march — music
  3. march — the month
  4. row — a line
  5. shower — rain
  6. march — the month
  7. chip — in a computer
  8. chip — for betting
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. shower — to wash
  11. chip — to eat
  12. leaves — lets stay
  13. row — a quarrel
  14. degree — an amount
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. land — ground
  17. row — to paddle
  18. degree — temperature
  19. leaves — to go away
  20. degree — from a university
  21. land — a country
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. fan — to cool the air
  24. land — to come down

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