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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. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  2. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  11. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  14. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  19. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  20. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  21. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  24. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — decided
  2. bowl — to roll
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. march — music
  5. bat — the animal
  6. ruler — a monarch
  7. march — the month
  8. spring — a coil
  9. spring — the season
  10. firm — steady
  11. bank — for money
  12. march — the month
  13. bowl — a dish
  14. bowl — a football final
  15. spring — of water
  16. fall — to drop
  17. fall — the season
  18. bank — for money
  19. fall — to drop
  20. firm — a company
  21. bank — of a river
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. ruler — for measuring
  24. ruler — for measuring

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