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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. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  5. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  6. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  7. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  8. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  11. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. She's very handy with a ________________.
  16. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  17. He works in a ________________ mill.
  18. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  19. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  24. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. march — the month
  3. spring — the season
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. chip — in a computer
  6. fall — to drop
  7. chip — to eat
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. hand — help
  10. track — to keep track
  11. saw — past of 'see'
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. hand — in cards
  14. march — the month
  15. saw — the tool
  16. fall — the season
  17. saw — the tool
  18. chip — for betting
  19. track — a path
  20. spring — of water
  21. fall — to drop
  22. march — music
  23. racket — a loud noise
  24. track — a song

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