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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.

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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: season · trunk · fall · drill · suit · cell · march · sharp

  1. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  2. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  3. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  4. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. When will it ________________ you to start?
  7. Did you ________________ the meat?
  8. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  11. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  12. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  15. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  18. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  21. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  22. It's one o'clock ________________.
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. He's quite ________________, isn't he?

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

Answer key

  1. suit — in cards
  2. season — in sport
  3. suit — clothes
  4. fall — to drop
  5. march — the month
  6. suit — to fit
  7. season — to add flavour
  8. drill — a practice
  9. cell — in biology
  10. drill — the tool
  11. trunk — of a car
  12. drill — army training
  13. cell — a phone
  14. trunk — of an elephant
  15. fall — the season
  16. march — music
  17. sharp — with an edge
  18. season — of the year
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. trunk — of a tree
  21. fall — to drop
  22. sharp — exactly
  23. march — the month
  24. sharp — clever

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