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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. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  2. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  3. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  7. It's one o'clock ________________.
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  10. He is an ace ________________.
  11. Don't do anything ________________.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  14. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  15. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  16. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  19. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  20. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. The ________________ market has crashed.
  23. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  24. This knife is not ________________ enough.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — to put up with
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. sharp — clever
  4. march — the month
  5. spring — of water
  6. bear — the animal
  7. sharp — exactly
  8. march — the month
  9. stock — a soup base
  10. pitcher — in baseball
  11. rash — hasty
  12. march — music
  13. deal — a big deal
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. stock — goods
  16. deal — to handle
  17. spring — the season
  18. rash — on the skin
  19. rash — a series
  20. bear — the animal
  21. spring — a coil
  22. stock — shares
  23. deal — an agreement
  24. sharp — with an edge

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