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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. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  2. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. Did you ________________ the meat?
  5. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  9. You don't need to ________________ round.
  10. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  14. We're almost out of ________________.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. How do you ________________ your surname?
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  19. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  23. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  24. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — of a tree
  2. march — the month
  3. wound — an injury
  4. season — to add flavour
  5. deal — a big deal
  6. wound — an injury
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. season — of the year
  9. pop — to visit
  10. leaves — lets stay
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. march — the month
  13. deal — to handle
  14. pop — soda
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. spell — letters
  17. spell — magic
  18. leaves — to go away
  19. spell — a short time
  20. mine — for digging
  21. march — music
  22. season — in sport
  23. deal — an agreement
  24. pop — music

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