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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. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  7. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  10. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. Where did you ________________ them?
  23. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  24. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. march — music
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. file — a tool
  5. file — a line of people
  6. lie — to recline
  7. fan — to cool the air
  8. file — a document
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. mug — a cup
  11. court — of law
  12. spring — the season
  13. march — the month
  14. spring — of water
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. court — of a king
  17. bat — the animal
  18. march — the month
  19. court — for sport
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. mug — to rob
  23. mug — a face
  24. lie — an untruth

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