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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. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  2. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. Don't do anything ________________.
  11. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  14. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  15. You don't need to ________________ round.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  21. We're almost out of ________________.
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. shower — rain
  3. craft — a handicraft
  4. spring — the season
  5. ruler — for measuring
  6. spring — a coil
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. rash — on the skin
  9. march — the month
  10. rash — hasty
  11. craft — a skill
  12. hand — in cards
  13. ruler — a monarch
  14. rash — a series
  15. pop — to visit
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. pop — music
  18. hand — help
  19. march — the month
  20. craft — boats
  21. pop — soda
  22. shower — to wash
  23. spring — of water
  24. ruler — for measuring

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