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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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468
Word bank
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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 water is too ________________.
  3. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  4. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  5. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  6. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  7. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  12. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. Don't do anything ________________.
  15. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  16. The ________________ took off on time.
  17. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  18. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  19. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  20. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  21. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. Did you ________________ the meat?

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

Answer key

  1. season — in sport
  2. cold — not warm
  3. plane — a tool
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. rash — a series
  6. mouse — for a computer
  7. wave — with your hand
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. season — of the year
  10. march — the month
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. wave — of the sea
  13. march — music
  14. rash — hasty
  15. perch — the fish
  16. plane — an aircraft
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. rash — on the skin
  19. wave — a sudden rise
  20. mouse — the animal
  21. plane — in geometry
  22. cold — an illness
  23. march — the month
  24. season — to add flavour

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