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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 flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  3. Don't do anything ________________.
  4. We're on a ________________ here.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  9. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  10. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  17. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  18. The ________________ took off on time.
  19. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  20. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  21. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  22. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. What do you think of the new ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. rash — a series
  3. rash — hasty
  4. roll — on a roll
  5. tear — from crying
  6. march — music
  7. march — the month
  8. leaves — to go away
  9. plane — a tool
  10. rash — on the skin
  11. march — the month
  12. tear — to rip
  13. spring — of water
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. tear — from crying
  16. roll — a list
  17. cabinet — a cupboard
  18. plane — an aircraft
  19. leaves — lets stay
  20. roll — a cake
  21. plane — in geometry
  22. leaves — of a tree
  23. spring — a coil
  24. cabinet — ministers

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