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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. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  7. The tickets are free of ________________.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  10. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  11. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. We're on a ________________ here.
  14. That must've been a ________________.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  19. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. march — the month
  3. present — the time now
  4. shower — to wash
  5. mine — for digging
  6. present — there
  7. charge — a price
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. roll — a cake
  10. present — a gift
  11. charge — in control
  12. march — music
  13. roll — on a roll
  14. rush — a thrill
  15. march — the month
  16. rush — to hurry
  17. land — ground
  18. roll — a list
  19. charge — electricity
  20. shower — rain
  21. land — a country
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. land — to come down

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