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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 116 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. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  3. I'll be taking the ________________.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  6. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  7. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  8. It's one o'clock ________________.
  9. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  14. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  15. Have you met the new head ________________?
  16. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  17. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  18. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  21. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  22. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  23. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  24. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. march — the month
  3. tube — the underground
  4. march — the month
  5. coach — pulled by horses
  6. stick — to attach or keep to
  7. squash — the sport
  8. sharp — exactly
  9. racket — a loud noise
  10. march — music
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. spring — a coil
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. tube — a container
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. tube — in a tire
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. spring — the season
  20. sharp — with an edge
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. sharp — clever
  23. squash — to crush
  24. squash — the vegetable

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