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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: spring · sharp · mate · pop · cap · march · stick · calf

  1. It's one o'clock ________________.
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  4. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  5. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. Have you found your soul ________________?
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. You don't need to ________________ round.
  11. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  12. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  15. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  16. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  17. We're almost out of ________________.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  20. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  21. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  22. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  23. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  24. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — exactly
  2. spring — a coil
  3. mate — a friend
  4. sharp — with an edge
  5. sharp — clever
  6. march — the month
  7. spring — of water
  8. mate — a partner
  9. march — the month
  10. pop — to visit
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. pop — music
  13. march — music
  14. calf — a young animal
  15. mate — to breed
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. pop — soda
  18. spring — the season
  19. calf — of the leg
  20. cap — a hat
  21. cap — a lid
  22. calf — a young animal
  23. cap — of ice
  24. stick — to attach or keep to

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