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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 120 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. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  5. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  6. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  10. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  17. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  18. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. march — the month
  3. spring — of water
  4. bear — to put up with
  5. mark — to pay attention
  6. bear — the animal
  7. band — a ring
  8. spring — a coil
  9. track — a song
  10. bark — a dog's sound
  11. march — music
  12. field — for sport
  13. bark — to shout
  14. mark — a trace
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. bark — of a tree
  17. mark — a grade
  18. track — a path
  19. band — a music group
  20. march — the month
  21. field — farmland
  22. track — to keep track
  23. field — a subject
  24. bear — the animal

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