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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. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  2. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  10. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  11. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  12. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  13. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  17. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  20. Did you ________________ the meat?
  21. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  24. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. rock — to move gently
  2. season — in sport
  3. cold — an illness
  4. scale — in music
  5. march — the month
  6. march — music
  7. scale — for weighing
  8. march — the month
  9. wave — of the sea
  10. wave — a sudden rise
  11. kick — with a leg
  12. rock — music
  13. season — of the year
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. cell — in biology
  16. kick — in football
  17. kick — a thrill
  18. cold — not warm
  19. scale — size or range
  20. season — to add flavour
  21. wave — with your hand
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. rock — a stone
  24. cell — a phone

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