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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. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  10. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  11. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  12. I'll be taking the ________________.
  13. My mare is ________________ in color.
  14. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  19. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  20. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. You don't need to ________________ round.
  24. We're almost out of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — thin
  2. spring — of water
  3. bay — to keep at bay
  4. march — the month
  5. degree — temperature
  6. bay — a part of the sea
  7. spring — a coil
  8. spring — the season
  9. squash — the vegetable
  10. squash — the sport
  11. lean — to rest against
  12. tube — the underground
  13. bay — a horse colour
  14. squash — to crush
  15. degree — from a university
  16. pop — music
  17. march — the month
  18. lean — to bend
  19. tube — in a tire
  20. tube — a container
  21. march — music
  22. degree — an amount
  23. pop — to visit
  24. pop — soda

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