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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. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  7. He is an ace ________________.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. Don't do anything ________________.
  10. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  11. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  12. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. The tickets are free of ________________.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  22. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  23. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  24. I seem to be developing a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. march — the month
  3. wake — a trail
  4. shower — to wash
  5. march — music
  6. charge — electricity
  7. pitcher — in baseball
  8. spring — the season
  9. rash — hasty
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. wake — before a funeral
  12. charge — in control
  13. spring — of water
  14. rest — a break
  15. spring — a coil
  16. wake — to stop sleeping
  17. march — the month
  18. charge — a price
  19. shower — rain
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. rest — what's left
  22. rash — a series
  23. rest — what's left
  24. rash — on the skin

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