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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. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  10. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  11. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  14. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  17. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  18. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  21. The King held a masked ________________.
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. There's no middle ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. lash — an eyelash
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. ball — a round shape
  6. march — the month
  7. lash — a whip stroke
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. prune — to trim
  10. lash — to lash out
  11. prune — to trim
  12. march — the month
  13. prune — the fruit
  14. current — happening now
  15. ground — crushed
  16. ball — a great time
  17. current — of water
  18. ground — the earth
  19. shower — rain
  20. current — electric
  21. ball — a dance
  22. shower — to wash
  23. mine — for digging
  24. ground — a position

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