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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. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  2. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  3. That must've been a ________________.
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  6. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  9. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  10. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  11. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  14. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  15. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a hat
  2. drill — army training
  3. rush — a thrill
  4. march — the month
  5. leaves — lets stay
  6. leaves — of a tree
  7. march — music
  8. prune — to trim
  9. cap — a lid
  10. drill — a practice
  11. prune — the fruit
  12. spring — a coil
  13. rush — hurry
  14. drill — the tool
  15. cap — of ice
  16. prune — to trim
  17. spring — of water
  18. leaves — to go away
  19. wind — moving air
  20. rush — to hurry
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. wind — moving air
  23. march — the month
  24. spring — the season

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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