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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 flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  3. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  4. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. How do you ________________ your surname?
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  14. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  17. It's one o'clock ________________.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  21. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. I can't ________________ this cold.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. spell — magic
  3. sharp — with an edge
  4. rest — what's left
  5. march — music
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. kid — child
  8. spell — letters
  9. march — the month
  10. spell — a short time
  11. spring — of water
  12. spring — a coil
  13. stand — for spectators
  14. sharp — clever
  15. kid — to tease
  16. stand — on your feet
  17. sharp — exactly
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. march — the month
  20. rest — what's left
  21. rest — a break
  22. game — a match
  23. game — wild animals
  24. stand — to bear

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