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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. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  4. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  5. David sat on the ________________.
  6. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  9. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  10. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  13. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  14. Don't do anything ________________.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  17. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  22. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. spring — a coil
  3. wake — to stop sleeping
  4. track — a path
  5. swing — to play on
  6. swing — in golf
  7. march — music
  8. bear — the animal
  9. swing — music
  10. track — to keep track
  11. march — the month
  12. bear — to put up with
  13. track — a song
  14. rash — hasty
  15. tear — from crying
  16. wake — before a funeral
  17. bear — the animal
  18. tear — from crying
  19. spring — of water
  20. march — the month
  21. rash — on the skin
  22. wake — a trail
  23. tear — to rip
  24. rash — a series

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