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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. The ________________ went through the wall.
  2. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  5. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  8. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  11. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  18. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  22. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  23. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  24. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — for a hammer
  2. march — the month
  3. march — the month
  4. club — a group
  5. pit — a hole
  6. spring — of water
  7. present — there
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. spring — the season
  10. nail — on a finger
  11. present — the time now
  12. spring — a coil
  13. club — for dancing
  14. cold — an illness
  15. fork — in a road
  16. cold — not warm
  17. present — a gift
  18. club — for golf
  19. march — music
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. pit — a fruit stone
  22. fork — a garden tool
  23. pit — in a race
  24. fork — to eat with

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