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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. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  3. Did you ________________ the meat?
  4. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  5. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. That must've been a ________________.
  11. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  14. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  15. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  16. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. It's one o'clock ________________.
  19. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  20. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  21. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  22. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  23. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. fall — to drop
  3. season — to add flavour
  4. sharp — clever
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. season — in sport
  7. land — a country
  8. rush — to hurry
  9. land — ground
  10. rush — a thrill
  11. prune — to trim
  12. land — to come down
  13. rush — hurry
  14. fall — the season
  15. prune — the fruit
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. march — music
  18. sharp — exactly
  19. sharp — with an edge
  20. perch — the fish
  21. prune — to trim
  22. season — of the year
  23. fall — to drop
  24. march — the month

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