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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. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  6. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  10. He is an ace ________________.
  11. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  12. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  16. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  20. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. This piece is in a major ________________.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — a meteor shower
  2. march — music
  3. key — for a lock
  4. cold — an illness
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. march — the month
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. root — of a plant
  10. pitcher — in baseball
  11. bear — the animal
  12. bear — to put up with
  13. march — the month
  14. shower — to wash
  15. key — the most important part
  16. bear — the animal
  17. cold — not warm
  18. court — of a king
  19. root — the cause
  20. root — of a word
  21. shower — rain
  22. key — in music
  23. court — of law
  24. court — for sport

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