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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. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  2. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. I can't ________________ this cold.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  12. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  13. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  14. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  15. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  18. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  21. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  22. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  23. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  24. I have a corn on my right ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — high quality
  2. fine — all right
  3. file — a line of people
  4. march — the month
  5. stand — to bear
  6. file — a tool
  7. march — the month
  8. prune — to trim
  9. march — music
  10. row — to paddle
  11. foot — the bottom
  12. stand — for spectators
  13. row — a quarrel
  14. stand — on your feet
  15. lean — to rest against
  16. file — a document
  17. lean — to bend
  18. prune — the fruit
  19. row — a line
  20. foot — a measure
  21. fine — a penalty
  22. prune — to trim
  23. lean — thin
  24. foot — part of the body

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