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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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Word bank
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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. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  3. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. You don't need to ________________ round.
  6. We're almost out of ________________.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. The ________________ took off on time.
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  12. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  13. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  14. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  22. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  23. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. fine — a penalty
  3. fine — all right
  4. spring — the season
  5. pop — to visit
  6. pop — soda
  7. spring — of water
  8. plane — an aircraft
  9. net — for catching
  10. tear — from crying
  11. lie — to recline
  12. pop — music
  13. net — after costs
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. march — the month
  16. tear — from crying
  17. march — the month
  18. march — music
  19. plane — a tool
  20. net — in sport
  21. fine — high quality
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. plane — in geometry
  24. tear — to rip

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