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

Word bank: present · stick · shower · roll · march · rule

  1. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  2. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  3. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  8. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  9. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  14. We're on a ________________ here.
  15. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  16. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  17. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. present — a gift
  3. rule — government
  4. shower — rain
  5. march — the month
  6. march — the month
  7. present — there
  8. present — the time now
  9. roll — a list
  10. shower — to wash
  11. roll — a cake
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. rule — a law
  14. roll — on a roll
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. stick — to attach or keep to
  17. rule — to rule out
  18. march — music

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