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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 band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  2. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  3. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  7. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. Did you ________________ the meat?
  16. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  19. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  22. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  23. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. mark — to pay attention
  3. squash — the sport
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. land — to come down
  6. rule — government
  7. mark — a grade
  8. spring — of water
  9. land — ground
  10. march — the month
  11. wind — moving air
  12. wind — moving air
  13. squash — to crush
  14. spring — a coil
  15. season — to add flavour
  16. rule — to rule out
  17. spring — the season
  18. season — of the year
  19. season — in sport
  20. march — the month
  21. squash — the vegetable
  22. mark — a trace
  23. rule — a law
  24. land — a country

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