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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. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  2. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  13. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  14. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. The ________________ went through the wall.
  17. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  18. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  19. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  20. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. spring — of water
  4. march — the month
  5. lash — a whip stroke
  6. spring — the season
  7. kid — to tease
  8. lash — to lash out
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. dip — to dunk
  11. kid — child
  12. lash — an eyelash
  13. dip — to sink
  14. mouse — for a computer
  15. game — wild animals
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. mouse — the animal
  18. dip — a sauce
  19. mouse — the animal
  20. nail — on a finger
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. game — a match
  23. march — the month
  24. spring — a coil

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