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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 116 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. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  2. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  3. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  9. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  10. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  11. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  12. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  13. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  14. Have you found your soul ________________?
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  17. That must've been a ________________.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  22. The ________________ market has crashed.
  23. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  24. You shouldn't ________________ things.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a friend
  2. prune — to trim
  3. mate — to breed
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. face — to point toward
  6. capital — a city
  7. wind — moving air
  8. stock — a soup base
  9. prune — to trim
  10. leaves — of a tree
  11. rush — hurry
  12. leaves — lets stay
  13. leaves — to go away
  14. mate — a partner
  15. capital — money
  16. face — to confront
  17. rush — a thrill
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. wind — moving air
  21. stock — goods
  22. stock — shares
  23. face — part of the head
  24. rush — to hurry

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