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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 band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  7. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  8. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  9. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  12. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  15. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  16. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  17. I can't ________________ this cold.
  18. David sat on the ________________.
  19. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  20. That was ________________ to happen.
  21. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  22. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. spring — of water
  3. spring — a coil
  4. spring — the season
  5. bat — the animal
  6. swing — in golf
  7. swing — music
  8. bank — for money
  9. bound — obliged
  10. march — the month
  11. bound — tied together
  12. bank — for money
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. mouse — for a computer
  15. bank — of a river
  16. mouse — the animal
  17. stand — to bear
  18. swing — to play on
  19. stand — for spectators
  20. bound — certain
  21. mouse — the animal
  22. stand — on your feet
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. march — the month

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