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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 124 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. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  5. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  6. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  7. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  8. The light ________________ burned out.
  9. Have you settled on a ________________?
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. I've got to change the light ________________.
  14. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  15. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  16. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  17. My mare is ________________ in color.
  18. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. Have you found your soul ________________?
  21. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  22. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  23. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a friend
  2. spring — the season
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. bay — to keep at bay
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. bass — the fish
  7. bulb — of a plant
  8. bulb — for light
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. band — a music group
  11. branch — a division
  12. band — a ring
  13. bulb — for light
  14. bay — a part of the sea
  15. branch — of a tree
  16. date — the fruit
  17. bay — a horse colour
  18. bass — low music
  19. spring — a coil
  20. mate — a partner
  21. bass — the instrument
  22. mate — to breed
  23. branch — of a bank
  24. spring — of water

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