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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. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  2. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. Have you found your soul ________________?
  7. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. He is an ace ________________.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  12. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  13. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  14. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  15. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  16. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  17. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  18. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  22. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  23. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  24. The tickets are free of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — electricity
  2. prune — to trim
  3. prune — to trim
  4. net — for catching
  5. net — in sport
  6. mate — a partner
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. pitcher — in baseball
  10. spring — the season
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. net — after costs
  13. bank — for money
  14. mate — to breed
  15. squash — the vegetable
  16. squash — to crush
  17. squash — the sport
  18. bank — for money
  19. spring — a coil
  20. spring — of water
  21. bank — of a river
  22. mate — a friend
  23. charge — in control
  24. charge — a price

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