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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. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  3. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  4. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. Have you found your soul ________________?
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  12. How do you ________________ your surname?
  13. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  24. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. mate — a friend
  3. spell — magic
  4. lie — an untruth
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. mate — a partner
  8. march — the month
  9. content — the amount
  10. band — a music group
  11. mate — to breed
  12. spell — letters
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. march — music
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. prune — to trim
  17. band — a ring
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. content — happy
  20. prune — to trim
  21. lie — to recline
  22. march — the month
  23. prune — the fruit
  24. spell — a short time

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