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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. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  19. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  20. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. bear — the animal
  3. spring — the season
  4. spring — a coil
  5. bear — the animal
  6. game — a match
  7. wave — of the sea
  8. file — a document
  9. game — wild animals
  10. wake — to stop sleeping
  11. spring — of water
  12. file — a line of people
  13. wave — with your hand
  14. land — to come down
  15. march — music
  16. land — a country
  17. file — a tool
  18. wake — a trail
  19. wake — before a funeral
  20. wave — a sudden rise
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. bear — to put up with
  23. march — the month
  24. land — ground

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