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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.

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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. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  8. Don't do anything ________________.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  14. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  17. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. Did you ________________ the meat?

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. trunk — of a car
  3. march — music
  4. season — in sport
  5. march — the month
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. current — happening now
  8. rash — hasty
  9. wind — moving air
  10. content — happy
  11. season — of the year
  12. march — the month
  13. trunk — of a tree
  14. current — electric
  15. wind — moving air
  16. rash — a series
  17. current — of water
  18. spring — of water
  19. trunk — of an elephant
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. rash — on the skin
  22. content — the amount
  23. spring — the season
  24. season — to add flavour

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