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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. Have you found your soul ________________?
  2. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  9. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  15. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  18. I've got to change the light ________________.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. The light ________________ burned out.
  22. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  23. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  24. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. bulb — of a plant
  3. march — the month
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. band — a music group
  6. hand — in cards
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. prune — to trim
  9. row — a line
  10. march — the month
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. row — to paddle
  14. perch — the fish
  15. mate — a friend
  16. band — a ring
  17. mate — to breed
  18. bulb — for light
  19. hand — help
  20. march — music
  21. bulb — for light
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. prune — to trim

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