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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 hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  4. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  5. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  6. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  7. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  8. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  11. My father caught me by the ________________.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  14. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  19. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  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. march — the month
  2. spring — of water
  3. foot — part of the body
  4. staff — employees
  5. wake — to stop sleeping
  6. arm — a part of something
  7. foot — a measure
  8. staff — a stick
  9. last — final
  10. staff — employees
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. spring — the season
  13. wake — a trail
  14. wake — before a funeral
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. march — music
  17. march — the month
  18. foot — the bottom
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. last — to go on
  23. spring — a coil
  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