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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: march · rest · shower · bat · rash · board · deal · fan

  1. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  2. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. Don't do anything ________________.
  6. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  9. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  17. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  18. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  19. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  20. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  23. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  24. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. rest — what's left
  3. shower — to wash
  4. march — music
  5. rash — hasty
  6. rest — a break
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. deal — an agreement
  9. rash — on the skin
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. fan — to cool the air
  12. march — the month
  13. board — a committee
  14. bat — the animal
  15. shower — rain
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. deal — a big deal
  18. rash — a series
  19. board — a flat piece
  20. rest — what's left
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. deal — to handle
  24. board — to get on

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