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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 124 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. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  7. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  10. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. How do you ________________ your surname?
  14. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  15. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  16. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  17. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  18. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  19. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?

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

Answer key

  1. present — there
  2. spring — the season
  3. chest — of your body
  4. deal — a big deal
  5. spring — of water
  6. present — the time now
  7. spell — magic
  8. march — the month
  9. calf — of the leg
  10. calf — a young animal
  11. chest — of your body
  12. spring — a coil
  13. spell — letters
  14. spell — a short time
  15. deal — an agreement
  16. trunk — of an elephant
  17. trunk — of a car
  18. deal — to handle
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. march — music
  21. trunk — of a tree
  22. march — the month
  23. chest — a box
  24. present — a gift

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