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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: row · cabinet · shower · mate · wound · march · rest · band

  1. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  2. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. Have you found your soul ________________?
  5. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. What do you think of the new ________________?
  11. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  21. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  22. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  23. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  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. rest — what's left
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. march — the month
  4. mate — a partner
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. band — a ring
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. band — a music group
  9. wound — an injury
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. mate — to breed
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. shower — rain
  14. row — a line
  15. wound — an injury
  16. row — to paddle
  17. shower — to wash
  18. march — the month
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. rest — what's left
  21. rest — a break
  22. cabinet — a cupboard
  23. mate — a friend
  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