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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. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  3. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  4. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  5. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  13. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  22. The tickets are free of ________________.
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. prune — to trim
  3. charge — electricity
  4. present — there
  5. prune — the fruit
  6. ground — crushed
  7. charge — in control
  8. court — of a king
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. court — of law
  11. ground — a position
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. march — the month
  15. march — music
  16. prune — to trim
  17. ground — the earth
  18. perch — the fish
  19. mine — for digging
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. present — the time now
  22. charge — a price
  23. march — the month
  24. present — a gift

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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