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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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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: stand · cap · march · spring · game · saw · dip · suit

  1. When will it ________________ you to start?
  2. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  3. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  4. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  5. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  6. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  7. I can't ________________ this cold.
  8. He works in a ________________ mill.
  9. She's very handy with a ________________.
  10. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  20. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.

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

Answer key

  1. suit — to fit
  2. cap — a hat
  3. suit — in cards
  4. suit — clothes
  5. cap — a lid
  6. cap — of ice
  7. stand — to bear
  8. saw — the tool
  9. saw — the tool
  10. stand — on your feet
  11. spring — a coil
  12. march — the month
  13. march — music
  14. dip — to dunk
  15. spring — the season
  16. dip — to sink
  17. game — a match
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. dip — a sauce
  20. stand — for spectators
  21. march — the month
  22. spring — of water
  23. game — wild animals
  24. saw — past of 'see'

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