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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: hand · march · cap · stand · coach · mate · rash · shower

  1. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  2. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. Have you found your soul ________________?
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  6. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  7. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  12. Have you met the new head ________________?
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  15. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  19. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  20. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. Don't do anything ________________.
  23. I can't ________________ this cold.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. coach — pulled by horses
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. mate — a partner
  4. shower — to wash
  5. rash — on the skin
  6. mate — to breed
  7. cap — a lid
  8. shower — rain
  9. cap — a hat
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. hand — in cards
  14. stand — for spectators
  15. stand — on your feet
  16. march — the month
  17. march — the month
  18. cap — of ice
  19. rash — a series
  20. mate — a friend
  21. march — music
  22. rash — hasty
  23. stand — to bear
  24. hand — help

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