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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. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  12. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  13. Have you found your soul ________________?
  14. What do you think of the new ________________?
  15. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  16. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  17. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  18. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  23. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — in music
  2. game — wild animals
  3. cabinet — a cupboard
  4. land — to come down
  5. scale — size or range
  6. land — ground
  7. prune — to trim
  8. spring — a coil
  9. club — for dancing
  10. spring — of water
  11. prune — to trim
  12. scale — for weighing
  13. mate — a partner
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. club — a group
  16. mate — to breed
  17. mate — a friend
  18. prune — the fruit
  19. land — a country
  20. game — a match
  21. spring — the season
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. club — for golf
  24. game — a kind of play

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