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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. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  2. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  5. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  6. The tickets are free of ________________.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  9. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  10. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  11. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  12. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  16. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  19. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  20. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  21. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — a drink to someone
  2. fine — a penalty
  3. shower — to wash
  4. toast — bread
  5. fine — all right
  6. charge — a price
  7. shower — rain
  8. wake — a trail
  9. drill — army training
  10. charge — electricity
  11. drill — a practice
  12. wake — before a funeral
  13. race — the arms race
  14. march — the month
  15. toast — the most admired
  16. fine — high quality
  17. march — the month
  18. race — humankind
  19. drill — the tool
  20. race — a contest
  21. wake — to stop sleeping
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. charge — in control
  24. march — music

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