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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 · wound · mate · coach · pound · spell · march · present

  1. Have you found your soul ________________?
  2. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  3. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  6. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  7. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  8. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  9. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  10. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  11. How do you ________________ your surname?
  12. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. Have you met the new head ________________?
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  20. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  21. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  22. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  23. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  24. Did you ________________ the meat?

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. coach — pulled by horses
  3. pound — to hit hard
  4. wound — an injury
  5. mate — a friend
  6. pound — for dogs
  7. present — there
  8. mate — to breed
  9. pound — a weight
  10. present — the time now
  11. spell — letters
  12. present — a gift
  13. march — the month
  14. march — the month
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. march — music
  17. season — of the year
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. season — in sport
  20. spell — magic
  21. spell — a short time
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. wound — an injury
  24. season — to add flavour

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