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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. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. That must've been a ________________.
  3. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  4. My mare is ________________ in color.
  5. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  6. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  7. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  8. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  9. There's no middle ________________.
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  18. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  19. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  20. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. It's one o'clock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. rush — a thrill
  3. rush — to hurry
  4. bay — a horse colour
  5. rock — music
  6. bay — a part of the sea
  7. sharp — with an edge
  8. bay — to keep at bay
  9. ground — a position
  10. ground — crushed
  11. rush — hurry
  12. march — the month
  13. sharp — clever
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. ground — the earth
  16. march — music
  17. foot — a measure
  18. rock — to move gently
  19. rock — a stone
  20. foot — the bottom
  21. march — the month
  22. foot — part of the body
  23. shower — rain
  24. sharp — exactly

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