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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: sharp · shower · toast · march · band · rest · kid · mouse

  1. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  2. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  5. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  6. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  7. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  13. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  14. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. It's one o'clock ________________.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — bread
  2. toast — a drink to someone
  3. shower — rain
  4. rest — what's left
  5. toast — the most admired
  6. rest — what's left
  7. rest — a break
  8. shower — to wash
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. mouse — for a computer
  11. kid — child
  12. sharp — with an edge
  13. mouse — the animal
  14. sharp — clever
  15. band — a ring
  16. kid — to tease
  17. march — the month
  18. band — a music group
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. march — the month
  21. mouse — the animal
  22. march — music
  23. sharp — exactly
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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