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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. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  4. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  8. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. Don't do anything ________________.
  15. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  18. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  19. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  20. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. file — a tool
  3. rock — music
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. march — the month
  6. file — a document
  7. rock — to move gently
  8. rash — a series
  9. game — a match
  10. spring — a coil
  11. spring — the season
  12. rash — on the skin
  13. march — the month
  14. rash — hasty
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. game — wild animals
  17. stick — to attach or keep to
  18. rock — a stone
  19. toast — the most admired
  20. toast — bread
  21. file — a line of people
  22. march — music
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. toast — a drink to someone

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