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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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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: mate · march · rest · bear · straw · capital · season · prune

  1. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  3. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  6. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  11. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  16. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  17. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  18. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  23. Have you found your soul ________________?
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. bear — the animal
  3. mate — to breed
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. prune — the fruit
  6. bear — the animal
  7. march — the month
  8. rest — what's left
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. season — in sport
  11. rest — what's left
  12. march — the month
  13. prune — to trim
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. rest — a break
  16. mate — a friend
  17. season — of the year
  18. bear — to put up with
  19. march — music
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. capital — money
  22. prune — to trim
  23. mate — a partner
  24. capital — a city

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