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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. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  3. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  4. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  5. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  6. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  16. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  17. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  22. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  23. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  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. march — the month
  2. mark — to pay attention
  3. mark — a trace
  4. cap — of ice
  5. current — of water
  6. current — electric
  7. march — music
  8. tear — from crying
  9. stem — to come from
  10. file — a tool
  11. branch — of a tree
  12. file — a line of people
  13. march — the month
  14. file — a document
  15. stem — of a plant
  16. stem — a stem cell
  17. current — happening now
  18. tear — to rip
  19. branch — of a bank
  20. tear — from crying
  21. mark — a grade
  22. cap — a lid
  23. branch — a division
  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