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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 dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  4. He works in a ________________ mill.
  5. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  15. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  16. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  17. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  18. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  19. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  22. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  23. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  24. She's very handy with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — rain
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. squash — to crush
  4. saw — the tool
  5. foot — a measure
  6. march — the month
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. content — happy
  9. shower — to wash
  10. content — the amount
  11. march — music
  12. drill — the tool
  13. march — the month
  14. foot — the bottom
  15. squash — the vegetable
  16. squash — the sport
  17. foot — part of the body
  18. drill — a practice
  19. stick — a piece of wood
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. drill — army training
  22. saw — past of 'see'
  23. stick — to attach or keep to
  24. saw — 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