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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 120 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: last · march · deal · bulb · season · fine · file · foot

  1. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  3. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  4. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  9. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  10. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  11. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  12. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. The light ________________ burned out.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  18. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  19. I've got to change the light ________________.
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  22. Did you ________________ the meat?
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. fine — all right
  3. deal — an agreement
  4. season — in sport
  5. file — a line of people
  6. march — music
  7. file — a tool
  8. season — of the year
  9. deal — a big deal
  10. bulb — of a plant
  11. fine — a penalty
  12. foot — a measure
  13. last — final
  14. bulb — for light
  15. last — finally
  16. march — the month
  17. fine — high quality
  18. foot — part of the body
  19. bulb — for light
  20. last — to go on
  21. deal — to handle
  22. season — to add flavour
  23. file — a document
  24. foot — the bottom

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