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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. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  2. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  3. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  13. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  14. The light ________________ burned out.
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  20. I've got to change the light ________________.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. Have you found your soul ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. mate — to breed
  2. fine — a penalty
  3. mate — a friend
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. fine — high quality
  6. capital — money
  7. spring — of water
  8. fine — all right
  9. cell — a phone
  10. march — the month
  11. cell — in biology
  12. object — an aim
  13. bulb — of a plant
  14. bulb — for light
  15. march — the month
  16. object — to protest
  17. spring — a coil
  18. capital — a city
  19. object — a thing
  20. bulb — for light
  21. spring — the season
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. march — music
  24. mate — a partner

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