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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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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 band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  4. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  5. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  6. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  11. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  12. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. The ball hit the back of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. net — after costs
  3. pass — a permit
  4. wake — a trail
  5. calf — of the leg
  6. wake — to stop sleeping
  7. march — the month
  8. pass — to succeed
  9. spring — of water
  10. calf — a young animal
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. pass — to spend time
  13. spring — a coil
  14. wake — before a funeral
  15. net — for catching
  16. march — the month
  17. spring — the season
  18. net — in sport

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