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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. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  2. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  3. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  4. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  5. Don't do anything ________________.
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  8. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  9. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  12. Did you ________________ the meat?
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  22. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  23. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  24. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — in cards
  2. cap — a hat
  3. drill — the tool
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. rash — hasty
  6. march — the month
  7. season — of the year
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. drill — army training
  10. land — to come down
  11. cap — a lid
  12. season — to add flavour
  13. hand — help
  14. rash — a series
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. drill — a practice
  17. land — ground
  18. march — the month
  19. march — music
  20. land — a country
  21. season — in sport
  22. cap — of ice
  23. rash — on the skin
  24. racket — a loud noise

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