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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. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  3. Did you ________________ the meat?
  4. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  5. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  6. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  7. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  11. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  12. Did you ________________ the button?
  13. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  14. The King held a masked ________________.
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  19. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  20. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  21. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  22. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  23. There's no middle ________________.
  24. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. march — the month
  3. season — to add flavour
  4. ground — crushed
  5. season — of the year
  6. ball — a great time
  7. cap — of ice
  8. content — happy
  9. march — music
  10. present — there
  11. ball — a round shape
  12. press — to push
  13. press — a publisher
  14. ball — a dance
  15. ground — the earth
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. content — the amount
  18. cap — a lid
  19. season — in sport
  20. present — a gift
  21. present — the time now
  22. cap — a hat
  23. ground — a position
  24. press — newspapers

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