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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. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  8. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  11. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. The ________________ market has crashed.
  14. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  15. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  16. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  21. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  22. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. spring — of water
  3. march — music
  4. chest — of your body
  5. march — the month
  6. chest — of your body
  7. stock — a soup base
  8. rock — to move gently
  9. spring — a coil
  10. rock — music
  11. lie — an untruth
  12. chest — a box
  13. stock — shares
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. rock — a stone
  17. hand — in cards
  18. stock — goods
  19. spring — the season
  20. stick — to attach or keep to
  21. stick — a piece of wood
  22. lie — to recline
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. hand — help

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