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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 hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  8. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  9. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  13. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  18. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. file — a tool
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. march — music
  5. spring — the season
  6. file — a document
  7. cap — of ice
  8. cap — a hat
  9. club — for golf
  10. file — a line of people
  11. spring — a coil
  12. cap — a lid
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. march — the month
  15. calf — of the leg
  16. march — the month
  17. club — a group
  18. club — for dancing

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