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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. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  8. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  9. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  10. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  11. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  12. I've got to change the light ________________.
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  15. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  22. Don't do anything ________________.
  23. The light ________________ burned out.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — a series
  2. spring — of water
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. march — the month
  5. cell — a phone
  6. march — music
  7. branch — a division
  8. bulb — of a plant
  9. present — there
  10. present — a gift
  11. rash — on the skin
  12. bulb — for light
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. branch — of a tree
  15. prune — to trim
  16. cell — in biology
  17. present — the time now
  18. spring — a coil
  19. branch — of a bank
  20. march — the month
  21. prune — to trim
  22. rash — hasty
  23. bulb — for light
  24. spring — the season

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