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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 · march · rule · field · nail · rash · content · mug

  1. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  4. Did you ________________ the meat?
  5. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  6. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  7. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. The ________________ went through the wall.
  11. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  12. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  13. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. Don't do anything ________________.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  23. Where did you ________________ them?
  24. He refilled his coffee ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — in sport
  2. march — the month
  3. mug — a face
  4. season — to add flavour
  5. season — of the year
  6. rash — on the skin
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. field — for sport
  9. march — music
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. rule — a law
  12. rule — government
  13. nail — on a finger
  14. field — a subject
  15. rash — hasty
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. rash — a series
  18. content — the amount
  19. march — the month
  20. content — happy
  21. field — farmland
  22. rule — to rule out
  23. mug — to rob
  24. mug — a cup

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