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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. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  2. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  3. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  4. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  10. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  20. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  21. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  22. Have you found your soul ________________?
  23. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a lid
  2. mate — a friend
  3. leaves — of a tree
  4. mate — to breed
  5. clip — a video
  6. mine — for digging
  7. cap — a hat
  8. file — a line of people
  9. present — the time now
  10. cap — of ice
  11. race — humankind
  12. file — a document
  13. clip — to cut
  14. race — the arms race
  15. file — a tool
  16. race — a contest
  17. clip — for paper
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. present — there
  20. leaves — to go away
  21. present — a gift
  22. mate — a partner
  23. leaves — lets stay
  24. mine — an explosive

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