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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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  3. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  4. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  5. That must've been a ________________.
  6. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  7. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  8. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  9. Did you ________________ the meat?
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  15. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  16. He is an ace ________________.
  17. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  18. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  19. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  20. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  21. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  24. There's no middle ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. march — the month
  3. season — in sport
  4. stem — a stem cell
  5. rush — a thrill
  6. pass — to succeed
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. stem — of a plant
  9. season — to add flavour
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. march — the month
  12. stem — to come from
  13. kid — child
  14. ground — the earth
  15. pass — to spend time
  16. pitcher — in baseball
  17. rush — hurry
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. pass — a permit
  20. ground — crushed
  21. rush — to hurry
  22. march — music
  23. season — of the year
  24. ground — a position

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