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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. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  2. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  3. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  4. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  5. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  6. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  7. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  8. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  21. I'll be taking the ________________.
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. march — the month
  3. fork — to eat with
  4. leaves — lets stay
  5. fork — a garden tool
  6. leaves — of a tree
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. leaves — to go away
  9. spring — the season
  10. fork — in a road
  11. shower — rain
  12. tube — a container
  13. court — for sport
  14. calf — a young animal
  15. spring — of water
  16. court — of a king
  17. calf — of the leg
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. spring — a coil
  20. tube — in a tire
  21. tube — the underground
  22. shower — to wash
  23. march — the month
  24. court — of law

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