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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: toast · club · shower · craft · fork · march

  1. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  5. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  6. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  7. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  8. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  9. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  12. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  13. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  16. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — bread
  2. march — the month
  3. shower — rain
  4. fork — to eat with
  5. club — for dancing
  6. toast — a drink to someone
  7. fork — in a road
  8. club — a group
  9. craft — a skill
  10. shower — to wash
  11. fork — a garden tool
  12. craft — a handicraft
  13. craft — boats
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. toast — the most admired
  16. club — for golf
  17. march — music
  18. march — the month

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