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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: march · scale · season · ground · temple · deal · sharp · can

  1. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  3. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  4. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  5. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  6. When was this ________________ built?
  7. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  10. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  11. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  12. There's no middle ________________.
  13. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  14. It's one o'clock ________________.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  17. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  18. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  24. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. temple — side of the head
  4. sharp — clever
  5. scale — for weighing
  6. temple — a place of worship
  7. deal — an agreement
  8. march — the month
  9. deal — a big deal
  10. scale — size or range
  11. season — of the year
  12. ground — a position
  13. can — a tin
  14. sharp — exactly
  15. march — the month
  16. can — a tin
  17. ground — crushed
  18. scale — in music
  19. march — music
  20. season — in sport
  21. can — to be able to
  22. ground — the earth
  23. sharp — with an edge
  24. deal — to handle

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