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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. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  5. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  6. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  9. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  10. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  11. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  12. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  13. Have you found your soul ________________?
  14. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  15. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  16. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  17. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  23. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  24. Did you ________________ the meat?

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to speak sharply
  2. land — ground
  3. land — to come down
  4. club — a group
  5. club — for dancing
  6. cap — a hat
  7. land — a country
  8. mate — a friend
  9. cap — of ice
  10. prune — to trim
  11. prune — the fruit
  12. snap — to click
  13. mate — a partner
  14. mate — to breed
  15. prune — to trim
  16. snap — to snap out of it
  17. cap — a lid
  18. spring — of water
  19. spring — the season
  20. season — in sport
  21. spring — a coil
  22. club — for golf
  23. season — of the year
  24. season — to add flavour

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