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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: land · pop · march · shower · calf · sharp · band · board

  1. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  2. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  3. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  6. It's one o'clock ________________.
  7. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. You don't need to ________________ round.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  21. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. We're almost out of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a flat piece
  2. sharp — with an edge
  3. board — to get on
  4. march — the month
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. sharp — exactly
  7. calf — of the leg
  8. march — music
  9. sharp — clever
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. board — a committee
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. land — ground
  14. band — a ring
  15. pop — to visit
  16. shower — rain
  17. shower — to wash
  18. land — to come down
  19. land — a country
  20. pop — music
  21. calf — a young animal
  22. band — a music group
  23. march — the month
  24. pop — soda

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