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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. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  6. We're almost out of ________________.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  12. How do you ________________ your surname?
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  15. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  16. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  17. Did you ________________ the meat?
  18. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  19. You don't need to ________________ round.
  20. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — of the year
  2. kid — to tease
  3. march — the month
  4. land — a country
  5. vault — in gymnastics
  6. pop — soda
  7. land — ground
  8. season — in sport
  9. spell — a short time
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. fork — to eat with
  12. spell — letters
  13. march — music
  14. vault — an arched ceiling
  15. spell — magic
  16. pop — music
  17. season — to add flavour
  18. fork — a garden tool
  19. pop — to visit
  20. fork — in a road
  21. kid — child
  22. march — the month
  23. land — to come down
  24. vault — a safe

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