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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: plane · march · last · chip · cabinet · scale · shower · hand

  1. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  10. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  11. What do you think of the new ________________?
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. The ________________ took off on time.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  21. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  22. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  23. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  24. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — rain
  2. last — final
  3. last — to go on
  4. cabinet — a cupboard
  5. hand — in cards
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. march — music
  8. shower — to wash
  9. scale — in music
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. last — finally
  13. plane — an aircraft
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. hand — help
  16. scale — size or range
  17. march — the month
  18. chip — in a computer
  19. march — the month
  20. plane — in geometry
  21. chip — to eat
  22. chip — for betting
  23. plane — a tool
  24. scale — for weighing

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