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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. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  5. Did you ________________ the meat?
  6. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  10. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  11. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  12. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  13. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  14. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  17. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  18. It's one o'clock ________________.
  19. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  20. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  21. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  22. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  23. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. cue — a signal
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. season — in sport
  5. season — to add flavour
  6. season — of the year
  7. march — the month
  8. hand — in cards
  9. sharp — clever
  10. staff — a stick
  11. sharp — with an edge
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. perch — the fish
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. hand — help
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. staff — employees
  18. sharp — exactly
  19. staff — employees
  20. racket — a loud noise
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. cue — a hint
  23. cue — for pool
  24. march — music

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