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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. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  3. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  9. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  10. What do you think of the new ________________?
  11. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  19. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  20. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  21. The King held a masked ________________.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. rock — to move gently
  3. cabinet — a cupboard
  4. spring — the season
  5. spell — letters
  6. march — the month
  7. march — music
  8. spell — magic
  9. ball — a great time
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. prune — to trim
  12. march — the month
  13. spell — a short time
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. rock — a stone
  16. spring — of water
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. prune — the fruit
  19. cabinet — ministers
  20. ball — a round shape
  21. ball — a dance
  22. spring — a coil
  23. mine — for digging
  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