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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. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  2. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  3. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  4. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  8. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  9. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  14. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  15. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  19. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  20. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  23. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to bend
  2. lean — to rest against
  3. squash — to crush
  4. pound — to hit hard
  5. march — the month
  6. file — a document
  7. pound — for dogs
  8. track — a song
  9. track — a path
  10. file — a tool
  11. cap — a lid
  12. race — the arms race
  13. track — to keep track
  14. cap — a hat
  15. squash — the vegetable
  16. march — the month
  17. squash — the sport
  18. race — a contest
  19. cap — of ice
  20. race — humankind
  21. file — a line of people
  22. pound — a weight
  23. lean — thin
  24. march — music

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