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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. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  7. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  8. We're almost out of ________________.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. It's one o'clock ________________.
  15. Did you ________________ the meat?
  16. You don't need to ________________ round.
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  20. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  24. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.

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

Answer key

  1. season — in sport
  2. wind — moving air
  3. band — a music group
  4. lean — thin
  5. march — music
  6. season — of the year
  7. fall — to drop
  8. pop — soda
  9. wind — moving air
  10. lean — to rest against
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. sharp — with an edge
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. sharp — exactly
  15. season — to add flavour
  16. pop — to visit
  17. fall — the season
  18. march — the month
  19. pop — music
  20. lean — to bend
  21. band — a ring
  22. march — the month
  23. sharp — clever
  24. fall — to drop

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