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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. Have you met the new head ________________?
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  11. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  12. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  13. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. You don't need to ________________ round.
  16. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  17. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  20. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. We're almost out of ________________.
  23. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  24. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. spring — of water
  3. trunk — of a car
  4. march — the month
  5. deal — to handle
  6. march — music
  7. spring — a coil
  8. march — the month
  9. cell — a phone
  10. pound — to hit hard
  11. pop — music
  12. trunk — of a tree
  13. deal — an agreement
  14. spring — the season
  15. pop — to visit
  16. coach — pulled by horses
  17. deal — a big deal
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. pound — for dogs
  20. trunk — of an elephant
  21. cell — in biology
  22. pop — soda
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. pound — a weight

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