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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. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  6. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  7. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  14. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  19. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  20. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  21. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  22. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — the animal
  2. march — music
  3. chest — of your body
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. rock — music
  6. fall — to drop
  7. can — a tin
  8. shower — to wash
  9. march — the month
  10. rock — a stone
  11. spring — of water
  12. spring — the season
  13. fall — to drop
  14. rock — to move gently
  15. chest — of your body
  16. spring — a coil
  17. march — the month
  18. fall — the season
  19. bear — the animal
  20. bear — to put up with
  21. can — to be able to
  22. can — a tin
  23. shower — rain
  24. chest — a box

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