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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 120 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: rash · march · club · snap · bear · shower · cell · leaves

  1. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  2. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  7. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  8. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  9. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  10. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  11. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. Don't do anything ________________.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  22. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  23. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — a series
  2. leaves — of a tree
  3. shower — rain
  4. march — the month
  5. march — music
  6. leaves — to go away
  7. bear — to put up with
  8. leaves — lets stay
  9. snap — to snap out of it
  10. bear — the animal
  11. club — a group
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. snap — to click
  14. march — the month
  15. rash — hasty
  16. shower — to wash
  17. cell — a phone
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. bear — the animal
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. club — for dancing
  22. club — for golf
  23. rash — on the skin
  24. cell — in biology

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