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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. David sat on the ________________.
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  11. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  12. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  21. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  22. I can't ________________ this cold.
  23. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. spring — the season
  3. wind — moving air
  4. march — the month
  5. court — for sport
  6. spring — of water
  7. march — the month
  8. ruler — for measuring
  9. spring — a coil
  10. ruler — a monarch
  11. swing — music
  12. wax — to grow
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. wax — for sculpting
  15. wind — moving air
  16. swing — in golf
  17. court — of law
  18. ruler — for measuring
  19. march — music
  20. stand — for spectators
  21. wax — in the ear
  22. stand — to bear
  23. stand — on your feet
  24. court — of a king

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