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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: shower · march · trunk · board · fall · cold · sharp · pass

  1. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  2. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  5. It's one o'clock ________________.
  6. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  10. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  17. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  18. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  19. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  22. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. You can't go backstage without a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a flat piece
  2. fall — to drop
  3. march — the month
  4. board — a committee
  5. sharp — exactly
  6. trunk — of a tree
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. march — the month
  9. fall — to drop
  10. board — to get on
  11. march — music
  12. sharp — with an edge
  13. shower — to wash
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. cold — not warm
  16. trunk — of an elephant
  17. sharp — clever
  18. fall — the season
  19. trunk — of a car
  20. shower — rain
  21. pass — to spend time
  22. pass — to succeed
  23. cold — an illness
  24. pass — a permit

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