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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. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  5. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  6. What do you think of the new ________________?
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  9. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  10. We're on a ________________ here.
  11. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. Where did you ________________ them?
  14. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  15. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  21. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. roll — a cake
  3. chest — of your body
  4. roll — a list
  5. lash — an eyelash
  6. cabinet — ministers
  7. march — music
  8. cabinet — a cupboard
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. roll — on a roll
  11. lash — to lash out
  12. chest — of your body
  13. mug — to rob
  14. mug — a cup
  15. lash — a whip stroke
  16. march — the month
  17. vault — an arched ceiling
  18. spring — a coil
  19. spring — of water
  20. vault — a safe
  21. vault — in gymnastics
  22. spring — the season
  23. mug — a face
  24. chest — a box

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