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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. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  2. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  9. Did you ________________ the meat?
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  12. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  13. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  19. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  20. That was ________________ to happen.
  21. Did you ________________ the button?
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a friend
  2. mate — a partner
  3. season — of the year
  4. last — finally
  5. mate — to breed
  6. tear — to rip
  7. last — final
  8. bound — tied together
  9. season — to add flavour
  10. file — a tool
  11. press — newspapers
  12. bound — obliged
  13. staff — a stick
  14. tear — from crying
  15. file — a line of people
  16. press — a publisher
  17. file — a document
  18. staff — employees
  19. staff — employees
  20. bound — certain
  21. press — to push
  22. tear — from crying
  23. last — to go on
  24. season — in sport

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