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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 116 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. How do you ________________ your surname?
  2. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  7. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  11. Have you found your soul ________________?
  12. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  13. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  14. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  15. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. Did you ________________ the meat?
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  24. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. wound — past of 'wind'
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. mate — a friend
  7. spell — magic
  8. march — the month
  9. march — music
  10. season — of the year
  11. mate — a partner
  12. row — a line
  13. bank — for money
  14. spell — a short time
  15. mate — to breed
  16. march — the month
  17. season — to add flavour
  18. wound — an injury
  19. wound — an injury
  20. season — in sport
  21. bat — the animal
  22. row — to paddle
  23. bank — of a river
  24. bank — for money

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