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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. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  4. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  7. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. Have you met the new head ________________?
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  12. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  15. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. Have you found your soul ________________?
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. row — a line
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. mate — a friend
  5. kid — child
  6. mate — to breed
  7. pit — a hole
  8. spring — of water
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. pit — in a race
  12. rock — a stone
  13. march — music
  14. pit — a fruit stone
  15. rock — to move gently
  16. spring — the season
  17. kid — to tease
  18. coach — pulled by horses
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. march — the month
  21. mate — a partner
  22. row — to paddle
  23. rock — music
  24. march — the month

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