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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. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. We're on a ________________ here.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  7. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  8. Have you found your soul ________________?
  9. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  13. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  14. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  15. The tickets are free of ________________.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  18. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  19. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — to breed
  2. spring — of water
  3. roll — on a roll
  4. spring — the season
  5. chest — a box
  6. scale — in music
  7. roll — a list
  8. mate — a partner
  9. craft — a skill
  10. cell — a phone
  11. chest — of your body
  12. craft — a handicraft
  13. craft — boats
  14. charge — in control
  15. charge — a price
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. scale — size or range
  18. scale — for weighing
  19. charge — electricity
  20. spring — a coil
  21. chest — of your body
  22. mate — a friend
  23. cell — in biology
  24. roll — a cake

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