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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.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: season · game · march · band · fall · bore · toast · wound

  1. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  3. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  13. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  16. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  23. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. toast — the most admired
  3. bore — to drill
  4. march — the month
  5. fall — the season
  6. wound — an injury
  7. fall — to drop
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. season — in sport
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. toast — bread
  13. fall — to drop
  14. game — a match
  15. season — of the year
  16. bore — to tire
  17. wound — an injury
  18. march — the month
  19. game — wild animals
  20. band — a music group
  21. band — a ring
  22. toast — a drink to someone
  23. bore — gave birth
  24. march — music

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