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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 116 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: ground · ruler · wind · key · ball · spring · kid · march

  1. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  2. There's no middle ________________.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  5. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. This piece is in a major ________________.
  17. The King held a masked ________________.
  18. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  19. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  20. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ruler — a monarch
  2. ground — a position
  3. wind — moving air
  4. ball — a great time
  5. ruler — for measuring
  6. kid — child
  7. ground — crushed
  8. key — the most important part
  9. march — music
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. ground — the earth
  12. kid — to tease
  13. march — the month
  14. march — the month
  15. wind — moving air
  16. key — in music
  17. ball — a dance
  18. ball — a round shape
  19. key — for a lock
  20. ruler — for measuring
  21. spring — of water
  22. spring — a coil
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. spring — the season

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