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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. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  2. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  5. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  13. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  14. That was ________________ to happen.
  15. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  16. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  17. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  21. Have you found your soul ________________?
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  24. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a friend
  2. bound — obliged
  3. spring — the season
  4. mate — to breed
  5. present — the time now
  6. wind — moving air
  7. march — the month
  8. stem — of a plant
  9. march — the month
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. spring — of water
  12. stem — to come from
  13. present — there
  14. bound — certain
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. present — a gift
  17. stem — a stem cell
  18. wind — moving air
  19. march — music
  20. bound — tied together
  21. mate — a partner
  22. spring — a coil
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. perch — the fish

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