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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. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  5. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. Did you ________________ the meat?
  12. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  22. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. Where did you ________________ them?

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. march — music
  3. hand — in cards
  4. vault — a safe
  5. season — of the year
  6. wind — moving air
  7. lash — to lash out
  8. march — the month
  9. mug — a cup
  10. spring — the season
  11. season — to add flavour
  12. season — in sport
  13. wind — moving air
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. lash — an eyelash
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. lash — a whip stroke
  18. spring — of water
  19. mug — a face
  20. hand — help
  21. vault — an arched ceiling
  22. vault — in gymnastics
  23. spring — a coil
  24. mug — to rob

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