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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: toast · game · squash · track · sharp · spring · march · leaves

  1. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  8. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  9. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  10. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  11. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  12. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  13. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  14. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  18. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. It's one o'clock ________________.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  24. The ________________ change colour in autumn.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. march — the month
  3. leaves — to go away
  4. march — the month
  5. spring — of water
  6. game — wild animals
  7. sharp — with an edge
  8. toast — bread
  9. squash — the vegetable
  10. toast — the most admired
  11. sharp — clever
  12. track — a song
  13. squash — to crush
  14. track — to keep track
  15. march — music
  16. game — a match
  17. toast — a drink to someone
  18. squash — the sport
  19. spring — the season
  20. spring — a coil
  21. sharp — exactly
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. leaves — lets stay
  24. leaves — of a tree

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