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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. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  2. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  8. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  9. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  12. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  13. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  14. We're almost out of ________________.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  17. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. You don't need to ________________ round.
  21. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  22. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  23. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  24. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — high quality
  2. leaves — to go away
  3. march — the month
  4. club — a group
  5. march — the month
  6. prune — to trim
  7. leaves — lets stay
  8. fine — a penalty
  9. scale — size or range
  10. march — music
  11. prune — to trim
  12. club — for dancing
  13. prune — the fruit
  14. pop — soda
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. club — for golf
  17. fine — all right
  18. cold — an illness
  19. cold — not warm
  20. pop — to visit
  21. leaves — of a tree
  22. pop — music
  23. scale — in music
  24. scale — for weighing

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