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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 band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  2. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  3. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  4. What do you think of the new ________________?
  5. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  19. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  22. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  23. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. cabinet — a cupboard
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. cabinet — ministers
  5. pass — to succeed
  6. cold — not warm
  7. march — the month
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. pass — to spend time
  11. content — the amount
  12. net — for catching
  13. shower — rain
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. net — in sport
  16. march — the month
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. fan — to cool the air
  19. cabinet — ministers
  20. shower — to wash
  21. pass — a permit
  22. content — happy
  23. net — after costs
  24. cold — an illness

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