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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. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  2. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  3. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  4. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  7. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  8. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. The King held a masked ________________.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  15. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  16. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  17. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  18. Did you ________________ the meat?
  19. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  20. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  21. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. lie — to recline
  3. season — of the year
  4. ball — a great time
  5. march — the month
  6. cap — of ice
  7. cap — a hat
  8. cap — a lid
  9. spring — a coil
  10. ball — a dance
  11. spring — of water
  12. field — for sport
  13. field — a subject
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. fork — to eat with
  17. fork — in a road
  18. season — to add flavour
  19. season — in sport
  20. fork — a garden tool
  21. ball — a round shape
  22. march — music
  23. field — farmland
  24. spring — the season

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