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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 flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  6. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  7. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  8. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  9. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. Don't do anything ________________.
  14. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  15. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  16. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. file — a document
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. spring — of water
  5. cue — a hint
  6. rash — on the skin
  7. cue — for pool
  8. lie — an untruth
  9. cue — a signal
  10. file — a tool
  11. march — the month
  12. squash — to crush
  13. rash — hasty
  14. squash — the vegetable
  15. rash — a series
  16. lie — to recline
  17. march — music
  18. spring — a coil
  19. squash — the sport
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. bat — the animal
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. march — the month
  24. file — a line of people

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