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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 120 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. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  2. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  6. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  7. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  8. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  9. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  10. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  11. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  12. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  13. Have you found your soul ________________?
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  18. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  23. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  24. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a friend
  2. cap — a hat
  3. march — the month
  4. spring — a coil
  5. scale — for weighing
  6. foot — a measure
  7. leaves — lets stay
  8. cap — of ice
  9. cap — a lid
  10. foot — the bottom
  11. foot — part of the body
  12. chair — to sit on
  13. mate — a partner
  14. spring — of water
  15. chair — a professorship
  16. march — the month
  17. leaves — to go away
  18. chair — a leader
  19. march — music
  20. scale — size or range
  21. spring — the season
  22. scale — in music
  23. leaves — of a tree
  24. mate — to breed

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