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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: march · spell · present · rest · bat · temple · season · lash

  1. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  4. Did you ________________ the meat?
  5. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  6. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  7. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  13. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  14. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  15. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  16. When was this ________________ built?
  17. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  18. How do you ________________ your surname?
  19. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  20. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  24. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — to lash out
  2. march — the month
  3. temple — a place of worship
  4. season — to add flavour
  5. lash — an eyelash
  6. temple — side of the head
  7. spell — a short time
  8. march — music
  9. season — of the year
  10. bat — the animal
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. rest — a break
  13. spell — magic
  14. rest — what's left
  15. present — a gift
  16. temple — a place of worship
  17. lash — a whip stroke
  18. spell — letters
  19. present — there
  20. rest — what's left
  21. march — the month
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. season — in sport
  24. present — the time now

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