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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 124 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. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. She's very handy with a ________________.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  13. He works in a ________________ mill.
  14. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  15. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  16. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  17. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  18. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  19. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  20. David sat on the ________________.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  23. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. march — the month
  4. capital — a city
  5. bowl — a football final
  6. march — the month
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. swing — in golf
  9. shower — rain
  10. saw — the tool
  11. capital — money
  12. rock — music
  13. saw — the tool
  14. rock — to move gently
  15. rock — a stone
  16. season — of the year
  17. swing — music
  18. bowl — to roll
  19. season — in sport
  20. swing — to play on
  21. shower — to wash
  22. bowl — a dish
  23. saw — past of 'see'
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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