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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  2. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  7. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  8. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  9. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  10. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  11. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  12. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  19. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  20. Did you ________________ the meat?
  21. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  24. She got the top ________________ in the exam.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. spell — letters
  3. present — a gift
  4. march — music
  5. capital — a city
  6. spell — magic
  7. spell — a short time
  8. present — there
  9. pitch — a sales talk
  10. mark — a trace
  11. fan — to cool the air
  12. pitch — completely
  13. march — the month
  14. season — of the year
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. march — the month
  18. pitch — a sports field
  19. season — in sport
  20. season — to add flavour
  21. mark — to pay attention
  22. capital — money
  23. present — the time now
  24. mark — a grade

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