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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. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  5. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  8. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  11. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  12. He is an ace ________________.
  13. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  14. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  15. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  16. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  17. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  18. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. can — a tin
  3. shower — to wash
  4. wake — to stop sleeping
  5. stem — a stem cell
  6. band — a ring
  7. can — to be able to
  8. can — a tin
  9. march — the month
  10. wake — before a funeral
  11. trunk — of a car
  12. pitcher — in baseball
  13. stem — of a plant
  14. trunk — of an elephant
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. wake — a trail
  17. band — a music group
  18. stem — to come from
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. march — the month
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. shower — rain

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