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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. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  2. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  4. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  5. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  10. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  11. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  12. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  13. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  23. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  24. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.

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

Answer key

  1. season — of the year
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. leaves — to go away
  4. leaves — lets stay
  5. leaves — of a tree
  6. capital — a city
  7. mark — a trace
  8. march — the month
  9. pass — to succeed
  10. mark — to pay attention
  11. pass — a permit
  12. mark — a grade
  13. rule — government
  14. chest — of your body
  15. capital — money
  16. chest — a box
  17. march — the month
  18. march — music
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. rule — to rule out
  21. chest — of your body
  22. season — in sport
  23. rule — a law
  24. pass — to spend time

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