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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 · kick · pop · season · saw · fall · rock · coach

  1. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  3. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  4. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  5. Did you ________________ the meat?
  6. He works in a ________________ mill.
  7. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  10. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  13. You don't need to ________________ round.
  14. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  15. Have you met the new head ________________?
  16. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  17. We're almost out of ________________.
  18. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  19. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  20. She's very handy with a ________________.
  21. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  22. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  23. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  24. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. fall — to drop
  3. kick — with a leg
  4. season — of the year
  5. season — to add flavour
  6. saw — the tool
  7. pop — music
  8. march — the month
  9. rock — to move gently
  10. season — in sport
  11. march — music
  12. saw — past of 'see'
  13. pop — to visit
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. rock — a stone
  17. pop — soda
  18. kick — a thrill
  19. kick — in football
  20. saw — the tool
  21. coach — pulled by horses
  22. fall — the season
  23. fall — to drop
  24. march — the month

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