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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: bay · game · pop · swing · net · march · shower · rash

  1. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. You don't need to ________________ round.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  7. We're almost out of ________________.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. David sat on the ________________.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  13. My mare is ________________ in color.
  14. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  15. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  16. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. Don't do anything ________________.
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — on the skin
  2. march — music
  3. net — in sport
  4. pop — to visit
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. bay — to keep at bay
  7. pop — soda
  8. shower — to wash
  9. net — for catching
  10. swing — to play on
  11. game — a match
  12. net — after costs
  13. bay — a horse colour
  14. pop — music
  15. bay — a part of the sea
  16. rash — a series
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. march — the month
  19. swing — in golf
  20. shower — rain
  21. game — wild animals
  22. rash — hasty
  23. march — the month
  24. swing — 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