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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. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. What do you think of the new ________________?
  4. We're almost out of ________________.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. You don't need to ________________ round.
  7. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. The light ________________ burned out.
  13. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  14. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  15. I've got to change the light ________________.
  16. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. Did you ________________ the meat?
  19. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  20. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  21. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  22. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  23. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  24. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — of the year
  2. net — after costs
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. pop — soda
  5. march — the month
  6. pop — to visit
  7. rule — a law
  8. squash — the sport
  9. march — the month
  10. net — in sport
  11. march — music
  12. bulb — for light
  13. squash — the vegetable
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. bulb — for light
  16. cabinet — a cupboard
  17. net — for catching
  18. season — to add flavour
  19. bulb — of a plant
  20. pop — music
  21. rule — government
  22. squash — to crush
  23. rule — to rule out
  24. season — in sport

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