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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. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  2. He is an ace ________________.
  3. Don't do anything ________________.
  4. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  7. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  8. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  9. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  10. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  11. Have you found your soul ________________?
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  14. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. David sat on the ________________.
  17. Did you ________________ the meat?
  18. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  19. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  20. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  21. That was ________________ to happen.
  22. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  23. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  24. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

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

Answer key

  1. season — of the year
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. rash — hasty
  4. can — to be able to
  5. march — the month
  6. bound — obliged
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. bound — tied together
  9. season — in sport
  10. rash — on the skin
  11. mate — a partner
  12. march — the month
  13. can — a tin
  14. rash — a series
  15. march — music
  16. swing — to play on
  17. season — to add flavour
  18. mate — a friend
  19. mate — to breed
  20. swing — in golf
  21. bound — certain
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. can — a tin
  24. swing — 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