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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. David sat on the ________________.
  2. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  3. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  4. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  7. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  8. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  9. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  10. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  11. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  12. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  13. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. march — the month
  3. rule — government
  4. rule — a law
  5. spring — a coil
  6. bowl — a football final
  7. can — to be able to
  8. swing — music
  9. can — a tin
  10. can — a tin
  11. cap — of ice
  12. swing — in golf
  13. bowl — to roll
  14. spring — of water
  15. bowl — a dish
  16. spring — the season
  17. wind — moving air
  18. cap — a lid
  19. march — music
  20. cap — a hat
  21. march — the month
  22. wind — moving air
  23. rule — to rule out
  24. wind — to turn a key

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