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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: content · shower · pound · object · toast · swing · march · rule

  1. David sat on the ________________.
  2. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  3. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  9. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  10. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  11. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  16. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  22. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  23. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  24. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. swing — music
  3. object — an aim
  4. content — happy
  5. object — a thing
  6. march — music
  7. content — the amount
  8. toast — the most admired
  9. pound — a weight
  10. toast — bread
  11. object — to protest
  12. shower — rain
  13. rule — government
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. swing — in golf
  16. rule — a law
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. pound — to hit hard
  19. march — the month
  20. shower — to wash
  21. pound — for dogs
  22. rule — to rule out
  23. toast — a drink to someone
  24. 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