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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 band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  4. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  5. The ________________ took off on time.
  6. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  7. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  10. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  23. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. plane — an aircraft
  6. rock — to move gently
  7. rock — music
  8. capital — money
  9. plane — in geometry
  10. plane — a tool
  11. capital — a city
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. march — the month
  14. mark — a grade
  15. cold — an illness
  16. spring — a coil
  17. hide — animal skin
  18. spring — the season
  19. march — the month
  20. rock — a stone
  21. spring — of water
  22. mark — a trace
  23. mark — to pay attention
  24. cold — not warm

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