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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. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  2. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  9. The tickets are free of ________________.
  10. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  11. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  12. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  13. Have you met the new head ________________?
  14. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  15. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  18. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  21. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  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. coach — pulled by horses
  2. mate — a partner
  3. scale — in music
  4. march — the month
  5. snap — to click
  6. prune — to trim
  7. march — the month
  8. mate — to breed
  9. charge — a price
  10. charge — in control
  11. snap — to speak sharply
  12. mate — a friend
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. scale — size or range
  15. charge — electricity
  16. cell — in biology
  17. prune — the fruit
  18. scale — for weighing
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. prune — to trim
  21. snap — to snap out of it
  22. cell — a phone
  23. coach — a trainer
  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