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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: march · face · clip · present · date · chair · bulb · season

  1. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  2. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  5. Did you ________________ the meat?
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  9. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  10. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  11. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  12. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  13. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  14. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  15. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  16. I've got to change the light ________________.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. Have you settled on a ________________?
  19. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. The light ________________ burned out.
  23. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  24. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. date — the fruit
  2. season — in sport
  3. march — music
  4. face — part of the head
  5. season — to add flavour
  6. clip — for paper
  7. clip — to cut
  8. date — on the calendar
  9. season — of the year
  10. present — there
  11. bulb — of a plant
  12. chair — a leader
  13. present — a gift
  14. present — the time now
  15. face — to point toward
  16. bulb — for light
  17. clip — a video
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. chair — a professorship
  20. march — the month
  21. march — the month
  22. bulb — for light
  23. face — to confront
  24. chair — to sit on

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