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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. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. Did you ________________ the meat?
  5. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  17. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  18. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  19. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  24. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. ground — a position
  4. season — to add flavour
  5. season — of the year
  6. march — the month
  7. ground — the earth
  8. spring — a coil
  9. last — finally
  10. last — to go on
  11. band — a ring
  12. racket — a loud noise
  13. march — the month
  14. spring — of water
  15. ground — crushed
  16. cap — a hat
  17. cap — of ice
  18. cap — a lid
  19. season — in sport
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. march — music
  22. band — a music group
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. last — final

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