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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 hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  3. I'll be taking the ________________.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  11. The light ________________ burned out.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. I've got to change the light ________________.
  19. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  20. Have you met the new head ________________?
  21. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  22. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. bulb — of a plant
  3. tube — the underground
  4. spring — the season
  5. coach — pulled by horses
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. bat — the animal
  8. toast — the most admired
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. toast — bread
  11. bulb — for light
  12. hand — help
  13. march — music
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. toast — a drink to someone
  16. march — the month
  17. spring — a coil
  18. bulb — for light
  19. tube — a container
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. tube — in a tire
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. march — the month
  24. hand — in cards

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