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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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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. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  2. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  3. Did you ________________ the meat?
  4. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  8. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. He works in a ________________ mill.
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  14. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. She's very handy with a ________________.
  18. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  21. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  22. When was this ________________ built?
  23. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  24. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. track — a path
  3. season — to add flavour
  4. saw — past of 'see'
  5. march — the month
  6. last — to go on
  7. season — in sport
  8. safe — a strongbox
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. cold — an illness
  11. saw — the tool
  12. march — the month
  13. season — of the year
  14. safe — out of danger
  15. cold — not warm
  16. last — final
  17. saw — the tool
  18. temple — a place of worship
  19. last — finally
  20. safe — out of danger
  21. track — to keep track
  22. temple — a place of worship
  23. temple — side of the head
  24. track — a song

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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