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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 116 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'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  4. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  5. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  6. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  7. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  8. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  9. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. How do you ________________ your surname?
  12. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  17. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  18. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  24. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. staff — a stick
  4. spell — magic
  5. spell — a short time
  6. mark — a trace
  7. mark — a grade
  8. squash — to crush
  9. squash — the vegetable
  10. march — music
  11. spell — letters
  12. mark — to pay attention
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. season — in sport
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. club — for dancing
  17. staff — employees
  18. staff — employees
  19. march — the month
  20. march — the month
  21. club — a group
  22. bat — the animal
  23. season — of the year
  24. club — for golf

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