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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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  6. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  15. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  16. Have you found your soul ________________?
  17. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  18. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  19. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  22. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  24. He took the fish out of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. march — music
  3. chip — for betting
  4. kid — child
  5. mate — to breed
  6. prune — to trim
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. march — the month
  9. toast — the most admired
  10. march — the month
  11. prune — the fruit
  12. net — in sport
  13. chest — a box
  14. net — after costs
  15. chip — in a computer
  16. mate — a partner
  17. toast — a drink to someone
  18. toast — bread
  19. chest — of your body
  20. prune — to trim
  21. chip — to eat
  22. mate — a friend
  23. chest — of your body
  24. net — for catching

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