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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. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  2. You don't need to ________________ round.
  3. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  4. He works in a ________________ mill.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. She's very handy with a ________________.
  7. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  8. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  9. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  10. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  11. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. We're almost out of ________________.
  14. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  15. The tickets are free of ________________.
  16. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  17. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  23. Have you found your soul ________________?
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — to breed
  2. pop — to visit
  3. saw — past of 'see'
  4. saw — the tool
  5. chest — of your body
  6. saw — the tool
  7. prune — to trim
  8. mate — a friend
  9. prune — to trim
  10. charge — electricity
  11. charge — in control
  12. march — the month
  13. pop — soda
  14. prune — the fruit
  15. charge — a price
  16. scale — size or range
  17. scale — for weighing
  18. march — the month
  19. scale — in music
  20. chest — a box
  21. chest — of your body
  22. pop — music
  23. mate — a partner
  24. march — music

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