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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. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  10. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  13. You don't need to ________________ round.
  14. We're almost out of ________________.
  15. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  16. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  17. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  18. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  19. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  20. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  21. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  22. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. prune — to trim
  3. march — the month
  4. mark — a trace
  5. chest — a box
  6. mark — a grade
  7. race — the arms race
  8. march — music
  9. race — a contest
  10. leaves — of a tree
  11. chest — of your body
  12. wake — to stop sleeping
  13. pop — to visit
  14. pop — soda
  15. race — humankind
  16. leaves — to go away
  17. prune — to trim
  18. leaves — lets stay
  19. wake — a trail
  20. mark — to pay attention
  21. wake — before a funeral
  22. prune — the fruit
  23. march — the month
  24. pop — 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