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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 hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  6. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  7. Have you found your soul ________________?
  8. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  9. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  10. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  11. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  12. I'll be taking the ________________.
  13. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  17. My father caught me by the ________________.
  18. The light ________________ burned out.
  19. I've got to change the light ________________.
  20. It's one o'clock ________________.
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  23. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. march — the month
  3. tube — in a tire
  4. spring — the season
  5. arm — a part of something
  6. bulb — of a plant
  7. mate — a partner
  8. mate — a friend
  9. mate — to breed
  10. trunk — of an elephant
  11. sharp — clever
  12. tube — the underground
  13. trunk — of a car
  14. spring — a coil
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. tube — a container
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. bulb — for light
  19. bulb — for light
  20. sharp — exactly
  21. march — music
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. sharp — with an edge
  24. march — the month

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