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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. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. Have you settled on a ________________?
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  7. You don't need to ________________ round.
  8. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  9. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  12. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  13. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  14. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. We're almost out of ________________.
  17. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  18. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  19. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  22. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  23. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  24. The ball hit the back of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. march — music
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. net — after costs
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. net — for catching
  7. pop — to visit
  8. board — a committee
  9. mark — a trace
  10. shower — rain
  11. mark — a grade
  12. stem — a stem cell
  13. board — a flat piece
  14. mark — to pay attention
  15. shower — to wash
  16. pop — soda
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. board — to get on
  19. date — the fruit
  20. march — the month
  21. pop — music
  22. stem — of a plant
  23. stem — to come from
  24. net — in sport

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