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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: land · shower · foot · leaves · march · cell · spell · board

  1. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  13. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  16. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  22. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. board — to get on
  3. spell — letters
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. spell — a short time
  6. cell — in biology
  7. leaves — lets stay
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. march — the month
  10. foot — part of the body
  11. shower — to wash
  12. board — a committee
  13. foot — a measure
  14. cell — a phone
  15. spell — magic
  16. leaves — of a tree
  17. land — a country
  18. shower — rain
  19. foot — the bottom
  20. land — to come down
  21. leaves — to go away
  22. board — a flat piece
  23. land — ground
  24. march — music

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