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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. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  11. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. My mare is ________________ in color.
  24. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. shower — to wash
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. content — happy
  5. court — for sport
  6. court — of a king
  7. march — music
  8. lie — an untruth
  9. last — to go on
  10. dip — to dunk
  11. bay — a part of the sea
  12. last — finally
  13. bay — to keep at bay
  14. court — of law
  15. lie — to recline
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. dip — a sauce
  18. march — the month
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. content — the amount
  21. last — final
  22. shower — rain
  23. bay — a horse colour
  24. dip — to sink

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