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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: last · bat · cold · march · season · lie · bank · mate

  1. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  6. Did you ________________ the meat?
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  17. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  20. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  21. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  22. Have you found your soul ________________?
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. lie — an untruth
  2. cold — not warm
  3. mate — to breed
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. bank — of a river
  6. season — to add flavour
  7. cold — an illness
  8. lie — an untruth
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. last — final
  11. march — the month
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. last — to go on
  14. season — in sport
  15. bat — the animal
  16. bank — for money
  17. mate — a friend
  18. last — finally
  19. season — of the year
  20. lie — to recline
  21. bank — for money
  22. mate — a partner
  23. march — the month
  24. march — music

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