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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. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. Where did you ________________ them?
  9. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  10. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  11. Did you ________________ the meat?
  12. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  13. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  14. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  15. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  19. He is an ace ________________.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. The King held a masked ________________.
  24. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. season — of the year
  2. season — in sport
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. march — the month
  6. degree — an amount
  7. march — music
  8. mug — to rob
  9. track — a song
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. season — to add flavour
  12. track — to keep track
  13. mug — a cup
  14. ball — a round shape
  15. ball — a great time
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. degree — temperature
  18. track — a path
  19. pitcher — in baseball
  20. bat — the animal
  21. mug — a face
  22. degree — from a university
  23. ball — a dance
  24. march — the month

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