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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. Have you found your soul ________________?
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. That was ________________ to happen.
  9. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  10. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  13. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  16. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  19. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  20. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  21. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  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. march — the month
  2. mine — for digging
  3. mate — a partner
  4. prune — to trim
  5. cell — a phone
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. bound — certain
  9. patient — calm and waiting
  10. mate — a friend
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. bound — tied together
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. mate — to breed
  16. content — happy
  17. march — the month
  18. prune — to trim
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. prune — the fruit
  21. bound — obliged
  22. content — the amount
  23. cell — in biology
  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