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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 120 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: lean · bat · cold · deal · dip · spring · band · march

  1. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  6. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  7. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  20. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. spring — of water
  3. cold — not warm
  4. band — a music group
  5. dip — to dunk
  6. lean — thin
  7. dip — to sink
  8. march — the month
  9. band — a ring
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. dip — a sauce
  12. march — music
  13. deal — to handle
  14. cold — an illness
  15. deal — a big deal
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. bat — the animal
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. lean — to rest against
  20. deal — an agreement
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. lean — to bend
  23. spring — the season
  24. spring — a coil

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