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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. Have you found your soul ________________?
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  4. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  5. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  6. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. I can't ________________ this cold.
  9. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  10. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  11. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  14. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  18. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  19. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  22. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  23. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. field — for sport
  3. mate — a friend
  4. mate — to breed
  5. scale — size or range
  6. trunk — of a car
  7. prune — to trim
  8. stand — to bear
  9. deal — an agreement
  10. stand — for spectators
  11. trunk — of an elephant
  12. field — farmland
  13. scale — for weighing
  14. scale — in music
  15. march — music
  16. field — a subject
  17. deal — to handle
  18. trunk — of a tree
  19. stand — on your feet
  20. march — the month
  21. prune — to trim
  22. deal — a big deal
  23. prune — the fruit
  24. march — the month

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