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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. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  5. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  6. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  7. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  8. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  9. Have you settled on a ________________?
  10. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  13. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  21. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  22. The ________________ went through the wall.
  23. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. spring — a coil
  3. march — the month
  4. bear — the animal
  5. nail — on a finger
  6. lash — to lash out
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. date — the fruit
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. lash — an eyelash
  11. spring — the season
  12. bear — to put up with
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. march — the month
  16. bear — the animal
  17. march — music
  18. lash — a whip stroke
  19. bat — the animal
  20. fine — high quality
  21. fine — all right
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. fine — a penalty
  24. bat — in an idiom

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