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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 soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  3. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  6. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  16. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  17. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  18. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  21. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  22. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  23. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  24. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. drill — army training
  3. pitch — a sports field
  4. last — final
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. hide — animal skin
  7. spring — the season
  8. staff — employees
  9. march — music
  10. march — the month
  11. march — the month
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. spring — of water
  14. last — to go on
  15. drill — a practice
  16. staff — a stick
  17. staff — employees
  18. prune — the fruit
  19. last — finally
  20. drill — the tool
  21. pitch — completely
  22. prune — to trim
  23. pitch — a sales talk
  24. prune — to trim

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