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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. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  2. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. Don't do anything ________________.
  5. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  6. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  11. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  15. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  16. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  17. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  20. When was this ________________ built?
  21. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  22. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — of ice
  2. march — the month
  3. march — music
  4. rash — hasty
  5. firm — a company
  6. firm — steady
  7. chest — a box
  8. firm — decided
  9. march — the month
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. cap — a lid
  12. chest — of your body
  13. spring — the season
  14. temple — a place of worship
  15. temple — side of the head
  16. patient — calm and waiting
  17. rash — on the skin
  18. spring — of water
  19. rash — a series
  20. temple — a place of worship
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. cap — a hat
  23. spring — a coil
  24. chest — of your body

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