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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. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  5. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  6. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  10. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. He is an ace ________________.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  16. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  23. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. safe — out of danger
  2. band — a ring
  3. spring — of water
  4. rock — to move gently
  5. kick — in football
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. spring — a coil
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. safe — a strongbox
  11. spring — the season
  12. pitcher — in baseball
  13. march — music
  14. march — the month
  15. rock — a stone
  16. kick — with a leg
  17. cold — not warm
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. band — a music group
  20. kick — a thrill
  21. march — the month
  22. safe — out of danger
  23. rock — music
  24. cold — an illness

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