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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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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: present · spring · toast · swing · march · file · prune · dip

  1. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  3. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  7. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  8. David sat on the ________________.
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  11. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  15. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  16. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  17. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  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. present — a gift
  2. file — a line of people
  3. toast — the most admired
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. file — a tool
  6. dip — a sauce
  7. swing — music
  8. swing — to play on
  9. march — the month
  10. swing — in golf
  11. toast — a drink to someone
  12. spring — the season
  13. file — a document
  14. present — the time now
  15. toast — bread
  16. dip — to dunk
  17. dip — to sink
  18. spring — a coil
  19. prune — to trim
  20. prune — to trim
  21. spring — of water
  22. march — the month
  23. present — there
  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