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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: season · kick · sharp · bay · march · bat · date · cell

  1. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  2. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  5. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. Have you settled on a ________________?
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. It's one o'clock ________________.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. My mare is ________________ in color.
  13. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  14. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  15. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  16. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  17. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  18. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  19. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  24. He's quite ________________, isn't he?

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

Answer key

  1. season — of the year
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. bay — to keep at bay
  5. cell — in biology
  6. cell — a phone
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. march — the month
  9. bat — the animal
  10. sharp — exactly
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. bay — a horse colour
  13. date — the fruit
  14. kick — a thrill
  15. sharp — with an edge
  16. kick — with a leg
  17. bay — a part of the sea
  18. season — in sport
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. march — music
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. march — the month
  23. kick — in football
  24. sharp — clever

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