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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. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  3. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  6. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  7. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  8. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  9. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  12. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  13. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. What do you think of the new ________________?
  16. Where did you ________________ them?
  17. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  18. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. There's no middle ________________.
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. He is an ace ________________.
  24. David sat on the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. swing — in golf
  4. spring — of water
  5. ground — crushed
  6. net — in sport
  7. mug — a face
  8. cabinet — a cupboard
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. march — the month
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. swing — music
  13. ground — the earth
  14. march — the month
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. mug — to rob
  17. net — after costs
  18. mug — a cup
  19. spring — the season
  20. ground — a position
  21. net — for catching
  22. march — music
  23. pitcher — in baseball
  24. swing — to play on

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