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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 120 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. You don't need to ________________ round.
  2. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  5. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  12. We're almost out of ________________.
  13. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  14. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  17. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  18. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  19. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  20. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  21. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  22. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  23. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  24. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — to visit
  2. present — a gift
  3. march — the month
  4. wake — to stop sleeping
  5. fall — to drop
  6. spring — of water
  7. spring — a coil
  8. march — music
  9. fall — to drop
  10. spring — the season
  11. pop — music
  12. pop — soda
  13. fork — to eat with
  14. present — the time now
  15. march — the month
  16. track — a path
  17. track — to keep track
  18. fork — a garden tool
  19. fork — in a road
  20. wake — a trail
  21. wake — before a funeral
  22. fall — the season
  23. present — there
  24. track — a song

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