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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. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  5. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  8. I can't ________________ this cold.
  9. Did you ________________ the meat?
  10. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. How do you ________________ your surname?
  18. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  19. That was ________________ to happen.
  20. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  21. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  22. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. He hit the ball with his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. spell — magic
  3. march — the month
  4. stand — on your feet
  5. racket — a loud noise
  6. spring — a coil
  7. bound — obliged
  8. stand — to bear
  9. season — to add flavour
  10. bound — tied together
  11. spring — of water
  12. march — music
  13. clip — to cut
  14. spring — the season
  15. season — of the year
  16. clip — for paper
  17. spell — letters
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. bound — certain
  20. stand — for spectators
  21. spell — a short time
  22. season — in sport
  23. clip — a video
  24. racket — for tennis

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