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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: chest · fall · last · saw · spell · march · pop · spring

  1. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  2. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. We're almost out of ________________.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. She's very handy with a ________________.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  13. You don't need to ________________ round.
  14. How do you ________________ your surname?
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  20. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  21. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. He works in a ________________ mill.
  24. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. saw — past of 'see'
  3. last — finally
  4. chest — a box
  5. chest — of your body
  6. pop — soda
  7. chest — of your body
  8. saw — the tool
  9. march — music
  10. spring — a coil
  11. spring — of water
  12. spell — a short time
  13. pop — to visit
  14. spell — letters
  15. last — final
  16. spring — the season
  17. fall — to drop
  18. last — to go on
  19. fall — the season
  20. spell — magic
  21. fall — to drop
  22. march — the month
  23. saw — the tool
  24. pop — 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