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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. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  2. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  7. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  8. Have you met the new head ________________?
  9. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  10. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  11. He is an ace ________________.
  12. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  19. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  22. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  23. Don't do anything ________________.
  24. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — rain
  2. march — the month
  3. march — the month
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. cold — an illness
  6. trunk — of a car
  7. root — the cause
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. root — of a plant
  10. rash — on the skin
  11. pitcher — in baseball
  12. coach — pulled by horses
  13. shower — to wash
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. cold — not warm
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. trunk — of an elephant
  20. march — music
  21. root — of a word
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. rash — hasty
  24. rash — a series

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