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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. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  3. You don't need to ________________ round.
  4. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  7. Have you found your soul ________________?
  8. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  9. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  15. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  21. When will it ________________ you to start?
  22. We're almost out of ________________.
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. mate — a friend
  3. pop — to visit
  4. wake — to stop sleeping
  5. tear — from crying
  6. mate — to breed
  7. mate — a partner
  8. suit — in cards
  9. wake — before a funeral
  10. race — the arms race
  11. march — music
  12. march — the month
  13. tear — to rip
  14. pop — music
  15. wake — a trail
  16. race — humankind
  17. race — a contest
  18. march — the month
  19. spring — of water
  20. suit — clothes
  21. suit — to fit
  22. pop — soda
  23. tear — from crying
  24. spring — the season

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