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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. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  2. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  5. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  9. What do you think of the new ________________?
  10. Have you found your soul ________________?
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. We're almost out of ________________.
  13. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  22. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  23. You don't need to ________________ round.
  24. The tickets are free of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — electricity
  2. mate — to breed
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. mate — a friend
  5. prune — to trim
  6. race — humankind
  7. race — the arms race
  8. prune — to trim
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. mate — a partner
  11. net — in sport
  12. pop — soda
  13. charge — in control
  14. tear — from crying
  15. tear — to rip
  16. race — a contest
  17. cabinet — a cupboard
  18. net — for catching
  19. cabinet — ministers
  20. tear — from crying
  21. pop — music
  22. net — after costs
  23. pop — to visit
  24. charge — a price

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