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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 124 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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. That must've been a ________________.
  10. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. Did you ________________ the meat?
  18. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  21. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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

Answer key

  1. season — in sport
  2. kid — to tease
  3. season — of the year
  4. last — finally
  5. kid — child
  6. capital — a city
  7. mark — a trace
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. rush — a thrill
  10. mark — to pay attention
  11. wound — an injury
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. last — to go on
  14. capital — money
  15. march — music
  16. march — the month
  17. season — to add flavour
  18. mark — a grade
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. rush — to hurry
  21. rush — hurry
  22. march — the month
  23. wound — an injury
  24. last — final

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