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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 116 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 King held a masked ________________.
  3. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  6. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  7. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  12. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  17. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  20. How do you ________________ your surname?
  21. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. shower — rain
  2. ball — a dance
  3. scale — in music
  4. spring — a coil
  5. ball — a round shape
  6. scale — for weighing
  7. ball — a great time
  8. march — the month
  9. spring — of water
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. spell — magic
  12. firm — decided
  13. spring — the season
  14. shower — to wash
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. spell — a short time
  17. scale — size or range
  18. cell — in biology
  19. firm — a company
  20. spell — letters
  21. firm — steady
  22. march — music
  23. march — the month
  24. cell — a phone

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