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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.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: spring · pop · bore · arm · root · march · straw · cap

  1. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. We're almost out of ________________.
  3. You don't need to ________________ round.
  4. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  5. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  6. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  7. My father caught me by the ________________.
  8. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  9. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  18. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  19. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  20. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. pop — soda
  3. pop — to visit
  4. root — the cause
  5. cap — a hat
  6. bore — gave birth
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. arm — a part of something
  9. cap — a lid
  10. march — the month
  11. bore — to drill
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. bore — to tire
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. spring — of water
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. root — of a plant
  18. pop — music
  19. cap — of ice
  20. root — of a word
  21. spring — a coil
  22. march — the month
  23. arm — part of the body
  24. march — music

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