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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. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  2. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  6. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. I've got to change the light ________________.
  12. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  13. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  14. He is an ace ________________.
  15. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  16. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  17. The ________________ market has crashed.
  18. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  19. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  20. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  21. The light ________________ burned out.
  22. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — of ice
  2. fall — to drop
  3. march — the month
  4. march — the month
  5. cap — a lid
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. shower — to wash
  8. march — music
  9. fall — the season
  10. shower — rain
  11. bulb — for light
  12. stock — goods
  13. bulb — of a plant
  14. pitcher — in baseball
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. cap — a hat
  17. stock — shares
  18. perch — the fish
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. stock — a soup base
  21. bulb — for light
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. fall — to drop

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