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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 116 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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. He works in a ________________ mill.
  8. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. I can't ________________ this cold.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  14. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  17. She's very handy with a ________________.
  18. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. march — music
  3. march — the month
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. stand — on your feet
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. saw — the tool
  8. rock — a stone
  9. march — the month
  10. spring — the season
  11. stand — to bear
  12. spring — a coil
  13. rock — music
  14. stand — for spectators
  15. spring — of water
  16. rock — to move gently
  17. saw — the tool
  18. saw — past of 'see'

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