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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. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  2. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  3. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  4. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  5. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  6. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  7. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  8. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  9. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  12. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  13. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  17. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  18. Have you found your soul ________________?
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — to breed
  2. cap — a hat
  3. toast — bread
  4. leaves — to go away
  5. mate — a friend
  6. wake — to stop sleeping
  7. cap — a lid
  8. fall — the season
  9. fall — to drop
  10. spring — a coil
  11. cap — of ice
  12. wake — before a funeral
  13. toast — the most admired
  14. file — a line of people
  15. spring — of water
  16. fall — to drop
  17. wake — a trail
  18. mate — a partner
  19. file — a tool
  20. leaves — of a tree
  21. file — a document
  22. leaves — lets stay
  23. spring — the season
  24. toast — a drink to someone

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