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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 116 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: band · shower · bear · ground · wind · swing · march · wake

  1. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  2. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. David sat on the ________________.
  7. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  8. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  9. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  13. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. A black ________________ roamed the forest.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. bear — to put up with
  3. shower — to wash
  4. ground — a position
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. swing — to play on
  7. wake — before a funeral
  8. wake — a trail
  9. ground — the earth
  10. ground — crushed
  11. wind — moving air
  12. swing — music
  13. wake — to stop sleeping
  14. band — a ring
  15. march — music
  16. shower — rain
  17. march — the month
  18. swing — in golf
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. wind — moving air
  22. bear — the animal
  23. band — a music group
  24. bear — the animal

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