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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 120 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. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  9. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  10. How do you ________________ your surname?
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  20. Where did you ________________ them?
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. wind — moving air
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. shower — to wash
  5. mug — a face
  6. court — of law
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. spell — magic
  10. spell — letters
  11. court — of a king
  12. march — the month
  13. court — for sport
  14. fan — to cool the air
  15. shower — rain
  16. spell — a short time
  17. band — a ring
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. mug — a cup
  20. mug — to rob
  21. wind — moving air
  22. march — music
  23. band — a music group
  24. fan — a supporter

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