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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. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  2. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  3. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  4. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  5. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. I can't ________________ this cold.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. I've got to change the light ________________.
  11. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  12. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. The light ________________ burned out.
  15. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  16. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — in an idiom
  2. march — the month
  3. snap — to snap out of it
  4. stand — for spectators
  5. track — a song
  6. spring — the season
  7. stand — to bear
  8. spring — a coil
  9. shower — to wash
  10. bulb — for light
  11. stand — on your feet
  12. bulb — of a plant
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. bulb — for light
  15. track — to keep track
  16. snap — to speak sharply
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. march — the month
  19. spring — of water
  20. snap — to click
  21. march — music
  22. shower — rain
  23. bat — the animal
  24. track — a path

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