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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. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  2. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  3. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. The tickets are free of ________________.
  7. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  8. Have you found your soul ________________?
  9. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for dancing
  2. cap — a lid
  3. charge — in control
  4. march — music
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. charge — a price
  7. cap — a hat
  8. mate — a partner
  9. cap — of ice
  10. bat — the animal
  11. mate — to breed
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. charge — electricity
  14. spring — the season
  15. march — the month
  16. spring — a coil
  17. mate — a friend
  18. march — the month
  19. spring — of water
  20. club — for golf
  21. last — final
  22. last — to go on
  23. club — a group
  24. last — finally

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