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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. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  4. David sat on the ________________.
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  7. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  8. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  9. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  10. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  15. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. Did you ________________ the button?
  18. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  19. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  20. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. march — music
  3. craft — a skill
  4. swing — to play on
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. kick — with a leg
  7. prune — to trim
  8. prune — to trim
  9. press — newspapers
  10. swing — in golf
  11. spring — the season
  12. craft — a handicraft
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. swing — music
  15. craft — boats
  16. march — the month
  17. press — to push
  18. prune — the fruit
  19. kick — in football
  20. kick — a thrill
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. march — the month
  23. spring — a coil
  24. press — a publisher

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