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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. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  11. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  12. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  13. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  14. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  15. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  16. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  20. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  21. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  22. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — rain
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. march — the month
  4. spell — letters
  5. board — to get on
  6. march — music
  7. land — to come down
  8. board — a committee
  9. march — the month
  10. board — a flat piece
  11. bore — to tire
  12. season — in sport
  13. fine — all right
  14. season — of the year
  15. spell — magic
  16. bore — gave birth
  17. shower — to wash
  18. land — ground
  19. bore — to drill
  20. fine — a penalty
  21. fine — high quality
  22. spell — a short time
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. land — a country

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