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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 polar ice ________________ is melting.
  2. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  3. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. That was ________________ to happen.
  7. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  8. Did you ________________ the meat?
  9. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  10. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  15. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  16. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  17. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  20. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  21. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  22. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  23. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  24. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — of ice
  2. season — in sport
  3. bound — tied together
  4. spell — letters
  5. march — the month
  6. bound — certain
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. season — to add flavour
  9. spell — magic
  10. stick — to attach or keep to
  11. tear — to rip
  12. march — music
  13. march — the month
  14. season — of the year
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. cap — a hat
  17. vault — a safe
  18. tear — from crying
  19. spell — a short time
  20. bound — obliged
  21. cap — a lid
  22. vault — in gymnastics
  23. vault — an arched ceiling
  24. tear — from crying

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