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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. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  3. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  4. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  7. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  10. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  11. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  16. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  17. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  18. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  19. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  20. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  21. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  22. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  23. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. branch — a division
  4. craft — a skill
  5. spring — of water
  6. drill — the tool
  7. craft — boats
  8. march — the month
  9. craft — a handicraft
  10. drill — a practice
  11. fan — to cool the air
  12. march — music
  13. branch — of a bank
  14. spring — a coil
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. cap — of ice
  17. branch — of a tree
  18. drill — army training
  19. hide — animal skin
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. cap — a lid
  22. cap — a hat
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. spring — the season

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