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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: shower · present · rest · pound · mate · march

  1. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  2. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  4. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  9. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  10. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  13. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  14. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — a weight
  2. mate — a partner
  3. pound — to hit hard
  4. present — a gift
  5. shower — to wash
  6. rest — what's left
  7. march — the month
  8. rest — what's left
  9. present — there
  10. rest — a break
  11. march — the month
  12. present — the time now
  13. pound — for dogs
  14. mate — a friend
  15. shower — rain
  16. march — music
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. mate — to breed

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