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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. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  2. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  4. When was this ________________ built?
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  16. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  17. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  18. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. Have you found your soul ________________?
  22. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. ________________ you help me carry this box?

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

Answer key

  1. wind — to turn a key
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. season — of the year
  4. temple — a place of worship
  5. march — music
  6. file — a document
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. wind — moving air
  9. can — a tin
  10. march — the month
  11. capital — money
  12. mate — a friend
  13. capital — a city
  14. file — a line of people
  15. temple — side of the head
  16. can — a tin
  17. mate — to breed
  18. season — in sport
  19. file — a tool
  20. march — the month
  21. mate — a partner
  22. temple — a place of worship
  23. wind — moving air
  24. can — to be able to

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