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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. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  2. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  3. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. That was ________________ to happen.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. Have you found your soul ________________?
  9. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  10. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  11. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  15. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  16. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  17. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  18. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  21. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. object — an aim
  2. object — a thing
  3. mate — to breed
  4. prune — to trim
  5. court — of law
  6. bound — certain
  7. race — the arms race
  8. mate — a partner
  9. bound — obliged
  10. bound — tied together
  11. leaves — lets stay
  12. court — for sport
  13. land — ground
  14. object — to protest
  15. prune — the fruit
  16. leaves — to go away
  17. leaves — of a tree
  18. prune — to trim
  19. land — a country
  20. race — humankind
  21. race — a contest
  22. court — of a king
  23. mate — a friend
  24. land — to come down

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