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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. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  4. Have you met the new head ________________?
  5. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  8. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  9. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  12. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  13. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  14. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  15. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  16. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. snap — to click
  3. kick — with a leg
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. rest — what's left
  6. march — music
  7. rest — what's left
  8. rest — a break
  9. kick — a thrill
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. fine — all right
  12. snap — to snap out of it
  13. kick — in football
  14. coach — pulled by horses
  15. snap — to speak sharply
  16. fine — high quality
  17. spring — the season
  18. fine — a penalty
  19. spring — a coil
  20. march — the month
  21. band — a music group
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. march — the month
  24. band — a ring

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