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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. How do you ________________ your surname?
  2. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  6. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  7. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. The light ________________ burned out.
  11. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  12. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  13. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  14. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  15. I've got to change the light ________________.
  16. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  19. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  20. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  23. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. march — the month
  4. wound — an injury
  5. staff — a stick
  6. rock — music
  7. bulb — of a plant
  8. march — music
  9. march — the month
  10. bulb — for light
  11. season — in sport
  12. foot — part of the body
  13. staff — employees
  14. rock — to move gently
  15. bulb — for light
  16. season — of the year
  17. spell — a short time
  18. spell — magic
  19. staff — employees
  20. rock — a stone
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. foot — a measure
  23. foot — the bottom
  24. wound — an injury

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