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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 120 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. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  3. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  6. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  7. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  8. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  9. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  10. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  11. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  12. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  13. When will it ________________ you to start?
  14. Did you ________________ the meat?
  15. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  16. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  17. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  18. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  19. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  20. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  24. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.

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

Answer key

  1. season — of the year
  2. season — in sport
  3. deal — to handle
  4. march — the month
  5. trunk — of an elephant
  6. stem — to come from
  7. trunk — of a car
  8. drill — a practice
  9. drill — army training
  10. pound — a weight
  11. drill — the tool
  12. deal — an agreement
  13. suit — to fit
  14. season — to add flavour
  15. pound — for dogs
  16. trunk — of a tree
  17. suit — in cards
  18. suit — clothes
  19. stem — of a plant
  20. stem — a stem cell
  21. march — the month
  22. march — music
  23. pound — to hit hard
  24. deal — a big deal

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