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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 120 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. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  12. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  13. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  16. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  17. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  21. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  22. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  23. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  24. He had ________________ pain while walking.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. march — the month
  3. spring — of water
  4. mine — for digging
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. court — of law
  7. wake — before a funeral
  8. court — for sport
  9. march — music
  10. spring — a coil
  11. lash — a whip stroke
  12. wake — to stop sleeping
  13. wake — a trail
  14. march — the month
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. lash — an eyelash
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. court — of a king
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. perch — the fish
  23. lash — to lash out
  24. calf — of the leg

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