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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 116 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. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  3. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  4. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  11. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  14. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. Did you ________________ the meat?
  17. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  20. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  23. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  24. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. rock — music
  3. track — to keep track
  4. season — of the year
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. rock — to move gently
  7. march — the month
  8. chair — a leader
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. rock — a stone
  11. track — a path
  12. march — music
  13. stem — of a plant
  14. stem — to come from
  15. march — the month
  16. season — to add flavour
  17. present — there
  18. spring — the season
  19. present — the time now
  20. stem — a stem cell
  21. spring — of water
  22. track — a song
  23. season — in sport
  24. present — a gift

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