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

Word bank: spring · wound · pass · mug · march · firm · bat · jam

  1. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  7. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  8. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  13. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  14. Where did you ________________ them?
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  22. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — steady
  2. march — the month
  3. jam — in traffic
  4. march — music
  5. spring — the season
  6. pass — a permit
  7. pass — to succeed
  8. jam — a tight spot
  9. march — the month
  10. firm — decided
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. pass — to spend time
  13. mug — a face
  14. mug — to rob
  15. bat — the animal
  16. jam — to spread on bread
  17. spring — a coil
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. wound — an injury
  20. wound — an injury
  21. firm — a company
  22. mug — a cup
  23. spring — of water
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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