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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. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  5. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  8. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  19. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  20. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  21. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  22. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  24. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. spring — the season
  3. file — a line of people
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. squash — to crush
  6. spring — of water
  7. club — for dancing
  8. cap — a hat
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. file — a document
  11. squash — the vegetable
  12. march — the month
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. club — a group
  15. march — the month
  16. cap — of ice
  17. spring — a coil
  18. chair — a leader
  19. calf — of the leg
  20. cap — a lid
  21. calf — a young animal
  22. squash — the sport
  23. file — a tool
  24. club — for golf

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