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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. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. He works in a ________________ mill.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  11. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  12. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  13. She's very handy with a ________________.
  14. I'll be taking the ________________.
  15. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  16. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. Have you met the new head ________________?
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  22. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  23. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  24. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. present — there
  3. court — of law
  4. march — the month
  5. saw — the tool
  6. spring — the season
  7. spring — of water
  8. court — of a king
  9. spring — a coil
  10. cap — a lid
  11. present — the time now
  12. cap — of ice
  13. saw — the tool
  14. tube — the underground
  15. saw — past of 'see'
  16. coach — pulled by horses
  17. court — for sport
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. march — the month
  20. march — music
  21. tube — in a tire
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. cap — a hat
  24. tube — a container

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