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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. How do you ________________ your surname?
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  9. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  10. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  14. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  15. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  23. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  24. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. shower — to wash
  3. bowl — a football final
  4. band — a ring
  5. shower — rain
  6. bowl — a dish
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. pass — a permit
  9. bowl — to roll
  10. patient — calm and waiting
  11. last — finally
  12. last — to go on
  13. spell — magic
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. pass — to spend time
  16. march — music
  17. last — final
  18. spell — a short time
  19. march — the month
  20. band — a music group
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. pass — to succeed
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. march — the month

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