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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 hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  9. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  10. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  11. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  12. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  13. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. Did you ________________ the meat?
  17. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  20. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  23. The ________________ took off on time.
  24. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. march — music
  3. season — of the year
  4. degree — from a university
  5. plane — in geometry
  6. spring — a coil
  7. march — the month
  8. deal — an agreement
  9. club — for dancing
  10. deal — to handle
  11. season — in sport
  12. wake — before a funeral
  13. plane — a tool
  14. degree — temperature
  15. march — the month
  16. season — to add flavour
  17. club — a group
  18. spring — the season
  19. deal — a big deal
  20. wake — a trail
  21. degree — an amount
  22. wake — to stop sleeping
  23. plane — an aircraft
  24. club — for golf

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