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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 116 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. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  3. Have you found your soul ________________?
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  13. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  17. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  18. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  19. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  20. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  21. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — to breed
  2. lean — to rest against
  3. mate — a partner
  4. race — humankind
  5. prune — to trim
  6. file — a document
  7. file — a tool
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. file — a line of people
  10. lean — thin
  11. march — music
  12. fan — to cool the air
  13. prune — the fruit
  14. march — the month
  15. race — a contest
  16. prune — to trim
  17. cap — a lid
  18. lean — to bend
  19. cap — of ice
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. mate — a friend
  22. march — the month
  23. race — the arms race
  24. cap — a hat

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