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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 120 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. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  2. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  9. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  10. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  14. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  19. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  20. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  24. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — to succeed
  2. present — a gift
  3. tear — from crying
  4. leaves — of a tree
  5. file — a tool
  6. march — the month
  7. tear — from crying
  8. pass — a permit
  9. stem — a stem cell
  10. pass — to spend time
  11. band — a music group
  12. file — a line of people
  13. present — the time now
  14. leaves — to go away
  15. march — music
  16. tear — to rip
  17. march — the month
  18. stem — of a plant
  19. present — there
  20. stem — to come from
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. file — a document
  23. leaves — lets stay
  24. band — a ring

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