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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. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  8. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  9. Have you found your soul ________________?
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  12. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  17. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  18. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  19. Did you ________________ the meat?
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  22. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  23. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — of the year
  2. march — the month
  3. shower — to wash
  4. march — music
  5. net — for catching
  6. capital — money
  7. mate — a friend
  8. mate — to breed
  9. mate — a partner
  10. shower — rain
  11. net — after costs
  12. track — to keep track
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. season — in sport
  15. capital — a city
  16. present — a gift
  17. track — a path
  18. present — there
  19. season — to add flavour
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. track — a song
  22. net — in sport
  23. present — the time now
  24. march — the month

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