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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: spring · kid · perch · march · season · band · face · rush

  1. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  3. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  10. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  14. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  15. Did you ________________ the meat?
  16. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  19. That must've been a ________________.
  20. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. march — the month
  3. face — part of the head
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. spring — of water
  6. face — to confront
  7. march — the month
  8. kid — child
  9. rush — hurry
  10. season — in sport
  11. band — a music group
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. season — of the year
  15. season — to add flavour
  16. rush — to hurry
  17. kid — to tease
  18. perch — the fish
  19. rush — a thrill
  20. face — to point toward
  21. march — music
  22. spring — a coil
  23. band — a ring
  24. perch — for a bird

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