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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. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  2. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  9. Did you ________________ the button?
  10. Have you found your soul ________________?
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  14. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  17. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  18. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  19. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  22. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a friend
  2. wave — a sudden rise
  3. court — for sport
  4. prune — to trim
  5. prune — the fruit
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. game — a match
  8. prune — to trim
  9. press — to push
  10. mate — a partner
  11. court — of a king
  12. land — ground
  13. press — newspapers
  14. fall — to drop
  15. land — a country
  16. press — a publisher
  17. mate — to breed
  18. wave — with your hand
  19. fall — the season
  20. court — of law
  21. fall — to drop
  22. wave — of the sea
  23. game — wild animals
  24. land — to come down

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