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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 party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  2. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  7. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  10. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  11. Don't do anything ________________.
  12. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  13. The ________________ went through the wall.
  14. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  19. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  20. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  21. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — a series
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. march — the month
  4. spring — a coil
  5. march — the month
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. rest — a break
  8. spring — the season
  9. hide — animal skin
  10. rest — what's left
  11. rash — hasty
  12. jam — a tight spot
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. jam — to spread on bread
  15. march — music
  16. cold — an illness
  17. cold — not warm
  18. nail — on a finger
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. rash — on the skin
  21. jam — in traffic
  22. spring — of water
  23. rest — what's left
  24. cold — the Cold War

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