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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. When are we going to ________________?
  2. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  3. My father caught me by the ________________.
  4. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  10. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  11. Did you ________________ the meat?
  12. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  20. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. A ________________ is just a dried plum.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. arm — a part of something
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. season — in sport
  5. game — wild animals
  6. prune — to trim
  7. tear — from crying
  8. land — a country
  9. prune — to trim
  10. can — a tin
  11. season — to add flavour
  12. can — to be able to
  13. land — ground
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. tear — to rip
  16. tear — from crying
  17. season — of the year
  18. march — the month
  19. can — a tin
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. march — music
  22. march — the month
  23. game — a match
  24. prune — the fruit

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