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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. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. Have you found your soul ________________?
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  9. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  10. There's no middle ________________.
  11. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. The ________________ took off on time.
  14. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  15. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  16. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  17. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  23. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  24. Add some ________________ pepper to it.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to bend
  2. march — music
  3. tear — to rip
  4. lean — thin
  5. tear — from crying
  6. mate — a partner
  7. ground — the earth
  8. pass — to succeed
  9. plane — in geometry
  10. ground — a position
  11. pass — a permit
  12. wake — a trail
  13. plane — an aircraft
  14. wake — before a funeral
  15. plane — a tool
  16. wake — to stop sleeping
  17. mate — to breed
  18. march — the month
  19. march — the month
  20. lean — to rest against
  21. tear — from crying
  22. pass — to spend time
  23. mate — a friend
  24. ground — crushed

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