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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. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  8. Have you found your soul ________________?
  9. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  10. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  11. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  12. You don't need to ________________ round.
  13. We're almost out of ________________.
  14. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  18. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  19. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  23. The King held a masked ________________.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. face — to confront
  3. spring — a coil
  4. face — to point toward
  5. kid — to tease
  6. spring — of water
  7. ball — a round shape
  8. mate — a partner
  9. mate — to breed
  10. lash — an eyelash
  11. mate — a friend
  12. pop — to visit
  13. pop — soda
  14. face — part of the head
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. march — the month
  17. pop — music
  18. ball — a great time
  19. lash — to lash out
  20. march — music
  21. spring — the season
  22. lash — a whip stroke
  23. ball — a dance
  24. kid — child

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