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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. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  3. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  4. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  8. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. How do you ________________ your surname?
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. Have you found your soul ________________?
  13. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  14. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  15. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  22. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  23. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. chip — for betting
  3. mark — to pay attention
  4. spell — a short time
  5. net — in sport
  6. march — the month
  7. chip — in a computer
  8. spell — magic
  9. chest — of your body
  10. spell — letters
  11. net — for catching
  12. mate — a partner
  13. prune — the fruit
  14. mark — a trace
  15. chest — of your body
  16. march — music
  17. mark — a grade
  18. chest — a box
  19. prune — to trim
  20. prune — to trim
  21. chip — to eat
  22. mate — to breed
  23. mate — a friend
  24. net — after costs

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