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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. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  6. Have you found your soul ________________?
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. Did you ________________ the meat?
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  11. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  14. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  17. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  23. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. land — ground
  3. stem — of a plant
  4. file — a line of people
  5. wake — a trail
  6. mate — a partner
  7. march — music
  8. season — to add flavour
  9. tear — from crying
  10. season — in sport
  11. wake — to stop sleeping
  12. land — a country
  13. stem — a stem cell
  14. season — of the year
  15. march — the month
  16. stem — to come from
  17. mate — a friend
  18. tear — to rip
  19. file — a tool
  20. file — a document
  21. tear — from crying
  22. wake — before a funeral
  23. mate — to breed
  24. land — to come down

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