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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 hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. There's no middle ________________.
  11. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. What do you think of the new ________________?
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. ground — the earth
  3. chest — a box
  4. perch — the fish
  5. march — the month
  6. chest — of your body
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. march — the month
  9. spring — the season
  10. ground — a position
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. spring — a coil
  13. march — music
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. ground — crushed
  16. band — a ring
  17. last — to go on
  18. last — final
  19. band — a music group
  20. cabinet — a cupboard
  21. chest — of your body
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. last — finally

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