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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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 · cell · chest · content · pitcher · fine · march · mouse

  1. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  2. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  3. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  4. Did you ________________ the meat?
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. He is an ace ________________.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  18. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  21. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  22. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  23. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  24. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. season — of the year
  4. season — to add flavour
  5. chest — a box
  6. pitcher — in baseball
  7. march — the month
  8. season — in sport
  9. march — music
  10. chest — of your body
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. fine — all right
  13. content — the amount
  14. content — happy
  15. cell — a phone
  16. cell — in biology
  17. fine — high quality
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. mouse — the animal
  21. mouse — for a computer
  22. fine — a penalty
  23. chest — of your body
  24. mouse — the animal

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