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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: race · pitcher · shower · fork · ruler · content · fan · march

  1. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  2. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  9. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  13. He is an ace ________________.
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  19. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  20. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  23. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  24. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. march — the month
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. shower — to wash
  6. fork — in a road
  7. march — the month
  8. fork — to eat with
  9. ruler — for measuring
  10. shower — rain
  11. content — happy
  12. fan — to cool the air
  13. pitcher — in baseball
  14. race — the arms race
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. race — humankind
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. ruler — for measuring
  19. ruler — a monarch
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. content — the amount
  22. race — a contest
  23. fork — a garden tool
  24. pitcher — a jug

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