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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. Have you met the new head ________________?
  2. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  5. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  6. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  7. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  8. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  16. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  17. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  18. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  19. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  20. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  21. How do you ________________ your surname?
  22. Did you ________________ the meat?
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. pound — for dogs
  3. march — the month
  4. season — of the year
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. racket — a loud noise
  7. toast — a drink to someone
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. file — a line of people
  10. march — music
  11. spell — magic
  12. file — a tool
  13. coach — pulled by horses
  14. march — the month
  15. toast — the most admired
  16. pound — a weight
  17. pound — to hit hard
  18. season — in sport
  19. toast — bread
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. spell — letters
  22. season — to add flavour
  23. file — a document
  24. spell — a short time

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