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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. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  2. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  5. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  13. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  14. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  15. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  16. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. The tickets are free of ________________.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. charge — in control
  3. mine — for digging
  4. cap — a lid
  5. fall — the season
  6. spring — the season
  7. cap — of ice
  8. march — the month
  9. last — final
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. spring — of water
  12. dip — to dunk
  13. fall — to drop
  14. charge — electricity
  15. fall — to drop
  16. cap — a hat
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. dip — a sauce
  19. spring — a coil
  20. charge — a price
  21. last — finally
  22. dip — to sink
  23. march — music
  24. last — to go on

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