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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 116 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: row · wind · cell · racket · season · march · land · mark

  1. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. Did you ________________ the meat?
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  9. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  12. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. mark — to pay attention
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. season — to add flavour
  5. row — to paddle
  6. mark — a trace
  7. march — the month
  8. season — in sport
  9. season — of the year
  10. wind — moving air
  11. racket — a loud noise
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. land — to come down
  15. cell — a phone
  16. mark — a grade
  17. land — a country
  18. land — ground
  19. march — music
  20. row — a line
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. wind — moving air
  23. row — a quarrel
  24. cell — in biology

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