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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. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  3. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  4. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  5. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  6. It's one o'clock ________________.
  7. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  13. He is an ace ________________.
  14. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  19. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  20. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  21. She's very handy with a ________________.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. He works in a ________________ mill.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. dip — to sink
  3. dip — to dunk
  4. saw — past of 'see'
  5. mark — a grade
  6. sharp — exactly
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. march — the month
  9. tear — from crying
  10. tear — to rip
  11. spring — a coil
  12. dip — a sauce
  13. pitcher — in baseball
  14. mark — to pay attention
  15. spring — the season
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. tear — from crying
  18. mark — a trace
  19. sharp — with an edge
  20. sharp — clever
  21. saw — the tool
  22. march — music
  23. saw — the tool
  24. spring — of water

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