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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 band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. The ________________ took off on time.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. It's one o'clock ________________.
  9. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  15. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  21. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  22. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  23. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. wind — moving air
  3. hand — in cards
  4. shower — to wash
  5. plane — an aircraft
  6. wind — moving air
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. sharp — exactly
  9. wake — before a funeral
  10. shower — rain
  11. bear — to put up with
  12. wake — a trail
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. bear — the animal
  15. sharp — with an edge
  16. march — the month
  17. sharp — clever
  18. march — the month
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. wake — to stop sleeping
  21. plane — in geometry
  22. plane — a tool
  23. bear — the animal
  24. hand — help

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