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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 water is too ________________.
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. I can't ________________ this cold.
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. He is an ace ________________.
  7. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  8. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  13. Have you found your soul ________________?
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  16. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  19. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  20. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  21. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  22. Where did you ________________ them?
  23. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. spring — the season
  3. march — the month
  4. stand — to bear
  5. march — music
  6. pitcher — in baseball
  7. mug — a cup
  8. stand — for spectators
  9. cold — an illness
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. spring — of water
  12. mate — to breed
  13. mate — a partner
  14. march — the month
  15. stand — on your feet
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. mate — a friend
  19. safe — out of danger
  20. mug — a face
  21. safe — out of danger
  22. mug — to rob
  23. safe — a strongbox
  24. spring — a coil

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