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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 124 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. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  3. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. Did you ________________ the meat?
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  12. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  13. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  18. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. chest — a box
  3. cue — a signal
  4. march — music
  5. cue — for pool
  6. chest — of your body
  7. spring — of water
  8. season — to add flavour
  9. wind — moving air
  10. spring — the season
  11. season — in sport
  12. season — of the year
  13. staff — a stick
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. cue — a hint
  16. march — the month
  17. staff — employees
  18. staff — employees
  19. file — a line of people
  20. file — a tool
  21. chest — of your body
  22. file — a document
  23. spring — a coil
  24. wind — moving air

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