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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. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  2. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  3. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  8. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. The ________________ took off on time.
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  13. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  14. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  18. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  19. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  22. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  23. Have you found your soul ________________?
  24. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. mate — a friend
  3. lean — to bend
  4. tear — to rip
  5. mate — to breed
  6. content — the amount
  7. lean — to rest against
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. plane — an aircraft
  11. content — happy
  12. wake — before a funeral
  13. wake — a trail
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. tear — from crying
  16. march — music
  17. plane — a tool
  18. plane — in geometry
  19. lean — thin
  20. tear — from crying
  21. wake — to stop sleeping
  22. stick — to attach or keep to
  23. mate — a partner
  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