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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 flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  8. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  9. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  12. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  15. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  16. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  17. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  18. The King held a masked ________________.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. spring — the season
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. kid — child
  5. lash — a whip stroke
  6. kid — to tease
  7. ball — a round shape
  8. lash — to lash out
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. march — the month
  11. ball — a great time
  12. racket — a loud noise
  13. spring — a coil
  14. ruler — for measuring
  15. ruler — a monarch
  16. hide — animal skin
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. ball — a dance
  19. spring — of water
  20. lash — an eyelash
  21. march — music
  22. ruler — for measuring
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. racket — for tennis

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