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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. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  8. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  9. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  10. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. Have you found your soul ________________?
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  21. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  24. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. row — a line
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. march — the month
  5. cue — a hint
  6. prune — to trim
  7. cap — of ice
  8. cue — a signal
  9. prune — to trim
  10. cap — a hat
  11. march — music
  12. row — to paddle
  13. mate — a partner
  14. tear — to rip
  15. mate — to breed
  16. tear — from crying
  17. cell — in biology
  18. cue — for pool
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. cap — a lid
  21. mate — a friend
  22. tear — from crying
  23. row — a quarrel
  24. cell — a phone

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