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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. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  2. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. Have you found your soul ________________?
  15. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  16. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  21. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  22. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — to breed
  2. file — a tool
  3. file — a line of people
  4. board — a committee
  5. tear — to rip
  6. tear — from crying
  7. fall — the season
  8. band — a ring
  9. board — to get on
  10. band — a music group
  11. mate — a friend
  12. tear — from crying
  13. file — a document
  14. mate — a partner
  15. leaves — lets stay
  16. fall — to drop
  17. clip — for paper
  18. fall — to drop
  19. clip — to cut
  20. leaves — of a tree
  21. board — a flat piece
  22. leaves — to go away
  23. clip — a video
  24. band — a rubber band

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