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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 116 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. False peace will not ________________.
  2. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  8. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  9. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. You don't need to ________________ round.
  16. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  17. We're almost out of ________________.
  18. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  19. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  20. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. craft — a handicraft
  3. wound — an injury
  4. march — the month
  5. last — finally
  6. spring — of water
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. craft — boats
  9. craft — a skill
  10. spring — the season
  11. pop — music
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. march — music
  15. pop — to visit
  16. pass — a permit
  17. pop — soda
  18. pass — to succeed
  19. calf — of the leg
  20. pass — to spend time
  21. spring — a coil
  22. march — the month
  23. wound — an injury
  24. last — final

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