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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 lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. I can't ________________ this cold.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  12. This piece is in a major ________________.
  13. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  14. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  15. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  18. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  21. He is an ace ________________.
  22. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  23. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — a box
  2. spring — a coil
  3. march — the month
  4. court — of law
  5. spring — of water
  6. stand — to bear
  7. court — of a king
  8. court — for sport
  9. march — music
  10. chest — of your body
  11. stand — for spectators
  12. key — in music
  13. key — the most important part
  14. stand — on your feet
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. march — the month
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. row — a line
  19. spring — the season
  20. key — for a lock
  21. pitcher — in baseball
  22. row — a quarrel
  23. chest — of your body
  24. row — to paddle

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