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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. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  3. The tickets are free of ________________.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  13. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  14. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  15. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  16. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. Don't do anything ________________.
  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. patient — calm and waiting
  3. charge — a price
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. march — music
  6. game — a match
  7. spring — a coil
  8. march — the month
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. rash — on the skin
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. charge — in control
  13. ruler — for measuring
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. ruler — for measuring
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. game — wild animals
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. ruler — a monarch
  20. march — the month
  21. charge — electricity
  22. spring — of water
  23. rash — hasty
  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