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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: cell · march · foot · hand · ball · pass · date · shower

  1. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  3. Have you settled on a ________________?
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. The King held a masked ________________.
  6. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  7. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  13. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  23. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  24. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. foot — part of the body
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. ball — a dance
  6. ball — a round shape
  7. foot — the bottom
  8. hand — in cards
  9. march — the month
  10. pass — to succeed
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. ball — a great time
  13. pass — to spend time
  14. hand — help
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. cell — in biology
  17. march — music
  18. march — the month
  19. cell — a phone
  20. shower — rain
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. pass — a permit
  23. foot — a measure
  24. date — the fruit

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