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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 chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. Have you found your soul ________________?
  7. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  8. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  11. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  12. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  13. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. How do you ________________ your surname?
  18. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  19. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  20. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  21. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — to breed
  2. rule — to rule out
  3. chest — a box
  4. capital — a city
  5. row — to paddle
  6. mate — a partner
  7. spell — magic
  8. rule — government
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. branch — of a bank
  11. branch — of a tree
  12. prune — to trim
  13. row — a quarrel
  14. capital — money
  15. spell — a short time
  16. chest — of your body
  17. spell — letters
  18. row — a line
  19. prune — to trim
  20. branch — a division
  21. mate — a friend
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. rule — a law
  24. chest — of your body

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