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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. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. It's one o'clock ________________.
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  7. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  8. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  9. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  18. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  22. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  23. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  24. This knife is not ________________ enough.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. sharp — exactly
  3. net — in sport
  4. rock — a stone
  5. march — the month
  6. rock — to move gently
  7. season — in sport
  8. bore — to drill
  9. bore — gave birth
  10. march — the month
  11. march — music
  12. last — final
  13. season — of the year
  14. last — finally
  15. land — to come down
  16. land — ground
  17. bore — to tire
  18. rock — music
  19. last — to go on
  20. land — a country
  21. sharp — clever
  22. net — for catching
  23. net — after costs
  24. sharp — with an edge

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