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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: club · wind · shower · march · land · mark · fork · dip

  1. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  2. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  5. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  11. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  12. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — a meteor shower
  2. mark — to pay attention
  3. shower — to wash
  4. fork — in a road
  5. dip — to dunk
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. fork — to eat with
  8. land — to come down
  9. march — the month
  10. club — for dancing
  11. mark — a grade
  12. mark — a trace
  13. wind — moving air
  14. march — the month
  15. fork — a garden tool
  16. wind — moving air
  17. dip — to sink
  18. land — ground
  19. club — a group
  20. march — music
  21. club — for golf
  22. land — a country
  23. shower — rain
  24. dip — a sauce

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