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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. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  2. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  7. She's very handy with a ________________.
  8. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  9. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  13. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  14. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. He works in a ________________ mill.
  19. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. Don't do anything ________________.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. The ball hit the back of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — the animal
  2. march — the month
  3. spring — a coil
  4. saw — past of 'see'
  5. march — music
  6. net — for catching
  7. saw — the tool
  8. row — to paddle
  9. row — a line
  10. degree — an amount
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. bear — the animal
  13. rash — a series
  14. bear — to put up with
  15. degree — from a university
  16. net — after costs
  17. degree — temperature
  18. saw — the tool
  19. rash — on the skin
  20. march — the month
  21. spring — the season
  22. rash — hasty
  23. spring — of water
  24. net — in sport

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