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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 116 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. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  3. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. You don't need to ________________ round.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  10. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. We're almost out of ________________.
  15. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  16. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  17. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. The tickets are free of ________________.
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  24. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. charge — electricity
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. spring — the season
  5. pop — to visit
  6. spring — of water
  7. spring — a coil
  8. march — the month
  9. pop — music
  10. present — a gift
  11. march — music
  12. mine — for digging
  13. march — the month
  14. pop — soda
  15. lie — to recline
  16. present — there
  17. present — the time now
  18. last — finally
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. charge — a price
  21. last — to go on
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. charge — in control
  24. lie — an untruth

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