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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. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  3. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  4. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  7. My mare is ________________ in color.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  11. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  12. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. When was this ________________ built?
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. bay — a part of the sea
  4. cap — of ice
  5. land — to come down
  6. cap — a hat
  7. bay — a horse colour
  8. land — ground
  9. content — the amount
  10. cap — a lid
  11. temple — side of the head
  12. bay — to keep at bay
  13. shower — rain
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. temple — a place of worship
  16. band — a ring
  17. content — happy
  18. march — the month
  19. shower — to wash
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. land — a country
  22. band — a music group
  23. march — the month
  24. band — a rubber band

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