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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 party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  2. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  3. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  4. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. Don't do anything ________________.
  7. Did you ________________ the meat?
  8. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  9. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  10. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  11. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  14. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  15. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  24. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — a series
  2. present — a gift
  3. object — to protest
  4. foot — part of the body
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. rash — hasty
  7. season — to add flavour
  8. rash — on the skin
  9. present — there
  10. foot — the bottom
  11. season — in sport
  12. march — the month
  13. object — an aim
  14. object — a thing
  15. drill — army training
  16. march — music
  17. season — of the year
  18. shower — to wash
  19. present — the time now
  20. march — the month
  21. drill — a practice
  22. shower — rain
  23. foot — a measure
  24. drill — the tool

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