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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: land · mug · pop · net · last · march · shower · squash

  1. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  11. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. Where did you ________________ them?
  17. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. We're almost out of ________________.
  22. You don't need to ________________ round.
  23. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  24. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — a meteor shower
  2. land — a country
  3. mug — a cup
  4. shower — rain
  5. land — to come down
  6. squash — the sport
  7. net — for catching
  8. pop — music
  9. march — the month
  10. mug — a face
  11. squash — the vegetable
  12. march — music
  13. last — finally
  14. net — in sport
  15. land — ground
  16. mug — to rob
  17. squash — to crush
  18. shower — to wash
  19. net — after costs
  20. last — to go on
  21. pop — soda
  22. pop — to visit
  23. last — final
  24. march — the month

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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