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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. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  5. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  6. Did you ________________ the meat?
  7. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  10. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. He is an ace ________________.
  13. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  14. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  19. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  20. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  21. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  22. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  23. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  24. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — to roll
  2. march — music
  3. march — the month
  4. bowl — a football final
  5. leaves — to go away
  6. season — to add flavour
  7. season — in sport
  8. cell — a phone
  9. leaves — lets stay
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. pitcher — in baseball
  13. drill — army training
  14. drill — the tool
  15. cell — in biology
  16. season — of the year
  17. march — the month
  18. drill — a practice
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. fall — the season
  21. leaves — of a tree
  22. fall — to drop
  23. fall — to drop
  24. bowl — a dish

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