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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. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  6. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  7. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  12. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  13. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  14. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  23. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  24. The elephant has a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. deal — an agreement
  3. kid — child
  4. wound — an injury
  5. firm — decided
  6. pit — in a race
  7. firm — a company
  8. spring — of water
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. kid — to tease
  11. pit — a fruit stone
  12. deal — to handle
  13. trunk — of a car
  14. pit — a hole
  15. spring — a coil
  16. deal — a big deal
  17. spring — the season
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. march — music
  20. march — the month
  21. wound — an injury
  22. trunk — of a tree
  23. firm — steady
  24. trunk — of an elephant

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