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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. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  2. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  3. Did you ________________ the meat?
  4. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  5. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  9. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  16. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  21. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  22. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. The ________________ change colour in autumn.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — size or range
  2. pitch — a sports field
  3. season — to add flavour
  4. pitch — a sales talk
  5. pitch — completely
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. cold — an illness
  8. leaves — to go away
  9. season — of the year
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. march — the month
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. scale — for weighing
  14. march — music
  15. chair — a professorship
  16. season — in sport
  17. march — the month
  18. row — a line
  19. row — to paddle
  20. scale — in music
  21. chair — a leader
  22. leaves — lets stay
  23. cold — not warm
  24. leaves — of a tree

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