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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
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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: cold · bear · saw · season · rock · cap · march · last

  1. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  5. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  6. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  10. He works in a ________________ mill.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. Did you ________________ the meat?
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  18. She's very handy with a ________________.
  19. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  20. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  23. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  24. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. rock — music
  3. last — final
  4. bear — the animal
  5. saw — past of 'see'
  6. rock — to move gently
  7. march — music
  8. march — the month
  9. cap — of ice
  10. saw — the tool
  11. last — finally
  12. last — to go on
  13. season — to add flavour
  14. march — the month
  15. season — in sport
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. cap — a hat
  18. saw — the tool
  19. bear — to put up with
  20. season — of the year
  21. cold — not warm
  22. bear — the animal
  23. rock — a stone
  24. cap — a lid

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