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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 band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  18. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  19. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  20. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  21. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  22. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. spring — of water
  3. spring — the season
  4. dip — to dunk
  5. file — a tool
  6. file — a document
  7. chest — a box
  8. calf — a young animal
  9. spring — a coil
  10. march — the month
  11. chest — of your body
  12. cue — a signal
  13. file — a line of people
  14. march — the month
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. wind — moving air
  17. cue — a hint
  18. dip — to sink
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. dip — a sauce
  21. calf — of the leg
  22. chest — of your body
  23. wind — moving air
  24. cue — for pool

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