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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. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  3. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  7. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  8. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. Where did you ________________ them?
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  13. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. Did you ________________ the button?
  16. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  21. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  22. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  23. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  24. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. board — a flat piece
  3. mug — a face
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. march — music
  6. press — newspapers
  7. perch — the fish
  8. drill — a practice
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. mug — to rob
  11. march — the month
  12. mug — a cup
  13. board — to get on
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. press — to push
  16. board — a committee
  17. spring — the season
  18. spring — a coil
  19. march — the month
  20. drill — the tool
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. press — a publisher
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. drill — army training

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