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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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. We're almost out of ________________.
  5. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  6. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  7. You don't need to ________________ round.
  8. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. Have you settled on a ________________?
  11. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  12. When will it ________________ you to start?
  13. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. Have you found your soul ________________?
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  20. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  24. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. prune — the fruit
  3. prune — to trim
  4. pop — soda
  5. suit — in cards
  6. date — the fruit
  7. pop — to visit
  8. mate — to breed
  9. kid — child
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. cap — a lid
  12. suit — to fit
  13. cap — a hat
  14. spring — of water
  15. mate — a partner
  16. prune — to trim
  17. mate — a friend
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. pop — music
  20. suit — clothes
  21. spring — a coil
  22. spring — the season
  23. cap — of ice
  24. date — on the calendar

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