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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: fine · shower · kid · ground · can · march · bay · pop

  1. You don't need to ________________ round.
  2. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  10. My mare is ________________ in color.
  11. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  12. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. We're almost out of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — to visit
  2. fine — a penalty
  3. ground — a position
  4. can — to be able to
  5. march — the month
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. fine — high quality
  8. march — the month
  9. bay — to keep at bay
  10. bay — a horse colour
  11. can — a tin
  12. fine — all right
  13. ground — crushed
  14. kid — child
  15. ground — the earth
  16. shower — to wash
  17. bay — a part of the sea
  18. kid — to tease
  19. pop — music
  20. shower — rain
  21. march — music
  22. can — a tin
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  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