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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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 · march · mate · cap · clip · date · safe · drill

  1. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  2. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  3. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  4. Have you settled on a ________________?
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  9. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. Have you found your soul ________________?
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  17. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  18. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  19. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  23. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  24. We had a fire ________________ at school today.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — to breed
  2. safe — out of danger
  3. drill — the tool
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. spring — a coil
  6. clip — for paper
  7. spring — the season
  8. safe — a strongbox
  9. cap — a hat
  10. clip — a video
  11. march — the month
  12. cap — of ice
  13. march — music
  14. mate — a partner
  15. march — the month
  16. drill — army training
  17. cap — a lid
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. safe — out of danger
  20. clip — to cut
  21. spring — of water
  22. date — the fruit
  23. mate — a friend
  24. drill — a practice

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