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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 flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. I'll be taking the ________________.
  3. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  11. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  17. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  18. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  19. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  22. How do you ________________ your surname?
  23. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  24. The train ________________ at six o'clock.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. tube — the underground
  3. leaves — lets stay
  4. march — the month
  5. march — music
  6. spell — magic
  7. chair — a leader
  8. can — to be able to
  9. spring — a coil
  10. can — a tin
  11. spell — a short time
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. march — the month
  14. spring — of water
  15. capital — a city
  16. tube — a container
  17. chair — to sit on
  18. chair — a professorship
  19. can — a tin
  20. capital — money
  21. leaves — of a tree
  22. spell — letters
  23. tube — in a tire
  24. leaves — to go away

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