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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. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  2. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  5. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  8. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  9. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  10. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  11. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  12. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  13. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  14. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. Did you ________________ the meat?
  17. That was ________________ to happen.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  22. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  23. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  24. The King held a masked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a great time
  2. bound — obliged
  3. march — music
  4. can — to be able to
  5. bound — tied together
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. pound — for dogs
  8. can — a tin
  9. pound — a weight
  10. dip — a sauce
  11. dip — to dunk
  12. season — in sport
  13. can — a tin
  14. season — of the year
  15. march — the month
  16. season — to add flavour
  17. bound — certain
  18. bat — the animal
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. march — the month
  21. dip — to sink
  22. ball — a round shape
  23. pound — to hit hard
  24. ball — a dance

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