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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. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. Did you ________________ the meat?
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  6. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  7. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  8. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  9. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  10. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  11. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  14. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  17. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  22. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  23. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  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. pound — a weight
  2. last — final
  3. season — to add flavour
  4. last — to go on
  5. safe — out of danger
  6. pitch — a sports field
  7. season — in sport
  8. season — of the year
  9. pound — for dogs
  10. wake — before a funeral
  11. safe — out of danger
  12. march — the month
  13. wake — a trail
  14. pitch — a sales talk
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. pound — to hit hard
  17. row — a line
  18. march — the month
  19. last — finally
  20. row — to paddle
  21. safe — a strongbox
  22. wake — to stop sleeping
  23. pitch — completely
  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