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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. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. The tickets are free of ________________.
  7. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. Did you ________________ the meat?
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  20. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  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. last — finally
  2. spell — letters
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. march — the month
  5. march — music
  6. charge — a price
  7. charge — in control
  8. game — a match
  9. game — wild animals
  10. court — for sport
  11. last — to go on
  12. prune — to trim
  13. prune — to trim
  14. season — to add flavour
  15. court — of law
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. spell — a short time
  18. last — final
  19. season — of the year
  20. spell — magic
  21. march — the month
  22. charge — electricity
  23. court — of a king
  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