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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 flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. Did you ________________ the meat?
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  13. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. Have you met the new head ________________?
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  20. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  23. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  24. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. spring — a coil
  3. march — the month
  4. last — final
  5. season — to add flavour
  6. last — finally
  7. march — music
  8. season — in sport
  9. march — the month
  10. drill — army training
  11. last — to go on
  12. drill — a practice
  13. season — of the year
  14. hand — in cards
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. spring — of water
  17. coach — pulled by horses
  18. hand — help
  19. deal — a big deal
  20. deal — to handle
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. deal — an agreement
  24. drill — the tool

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