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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 flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  3. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  6. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  21. The ________________ took off on time.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. wake — a trail
  3. board — a flat piece
  4. spring — of water
  5. plane — in geometry
  6. dip — a sauce
  7. cold — an illness
  8. march — music
  9. wake — to stop sleeping
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. dip — to dunk
  12. spring — a coil
  13. plane — a tool
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. march — the month
  16. board — to get on
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. board — a committee
  19. march — the month
  20. wake — before a funeral
  21. plane — an aircraft
  22. cold — not warm
  23. dip — to sink
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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