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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 polar ice ________________ is melting.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. Have you met the new head ________________?
  11. I've got to change the light ________________.
  12. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. The light ________________ burned out.
  19. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  20. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — of ice
  2. spring — of water
  3. bulb — of a plant
  4. march — the month
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. calf — of the leg
  7. march — the month
  8. coach — pulled by horses
  9. spring — a coil
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. bulb — for light
  12. cap — a hat
  13. wound — an injury
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. spring — the season
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. wound — an injury
  18. bulb — for light
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. cap — a lid
  21. mine — for digging
  22. calf — a young animal
  23. march — music
  24. mine — belonging to me

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