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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. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  4. When will it ________________ you to start?
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  15. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  16. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. My mare is ________________ in color.
  21. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. tear — from crying
  3. suit — in cards
  4. suit — to fit
  5. march — music
  6. march — the month
  7. spring — of water
  8. tear — from crying
  9. clip — to cut
  10. bay — to keep at bay
  11. tear — to rip
  12. clip — for paper
  13. march — the month
  14. suit — clothes
  15. cap — of ice
  16. cap — a lid
  17. clip — a video
  18. shower — to wash
  19. shower — rain
  20. bay — a horse colour
  21. cap — a hat
  22. spring — a coil
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. bay — a part of the sea

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