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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 120 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. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  6. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  7. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  8. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. The light ________________ burned out.
  22. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  23. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  24. I've got to change the light ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. season — of the year
  3. march — the month
  4. march — the month
  5. can — to be able to
  6. can — a tin
  7. rock — music
  8. rock — to move gently
  9. field — for sport
  10. can — a tin
  11. field — a subject
  12. shower — rain
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. shower — to wash
  15. wound — an injury
  16. rock — a stone
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. wound — an injury
  19. march — music
  20. field — farmland
  21. bulb — for light
  22. bulb — of a plant
  23. season — in sport
  24. bulb — for light

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