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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. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. She's very handy with a ________________.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  8. He works in a ________________ mill.
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  13. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  14. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  15. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  16. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  17. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  18. Did you ________________ the meat?
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  23. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  24. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.

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

Answer key

  1. season — in sport
  2. march — music
  3. march — the month
  4. saw — the tool
  5. spell — letters
  6. prune — to trim
  7. spell — magic
  8. saw — the tool
  9. march — the month
  10. prune — the fruit
  11. bat — the animal
  12. scale — size or range
  13. spell — a short time
  14. lean — to rest against
  15. lean — to bend
  16. season — of the year
  17. scale — for weighing
  18. season — to add flavour
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. scale — in music
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. saw — past of 'see'
  23. lean — thin
  24. prune — to trim

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