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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 120 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: charge · shower · cold · last · calf · rock · march · pop

  1. The water is too ________________.
  2. We're almost out of ________________.
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. The tickets are free of ________________.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  12. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  13. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  14. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  17. You don't need to ________________ round.
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  22. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  23. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. pop — soda
  3. march — music
  4. march — the month
  5. march — the month
  6. charge — a price
  7. cold — an illness
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. shower — to wash
  11. rock — music
  12. rock — to move gently
  13. calf — of the leg
  14. rock — a stone
  15. last — finally
  16. pop — music
  17. pop — to visit
  18. last — to go on
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. shower — rain
  21. charge — in control
  22. charge — electricity
  23. last — final
  24. cold — the Cold War

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