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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. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  2. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  7. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  11. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  12. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  13. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  14. The ________________ market has crashed.
  15. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  21. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  22. David sat on the ________________.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — rain
  2. jam — in traffic
  3. shower — to wash
  4. foot — a measure
  5. cold — not warm
  6. swing — music
  7. fall — to drop
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. march — the month
  10. swing — in golf
  11. stock — a soup base
  12. jam — to spread on bread
  13. fall — the season
  14. stock — shares
  15. foot — part of the body
  16. march — the month
  17. fall — to drop
  18. jam — a tight spot
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. stock — goods
  21. foot — the bottom
  22. swing — to play on
  23. march — music
  24. cold — an illness

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