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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 116 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. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  2. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  3. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  4. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  5. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  6. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  7. That must've been a ________________.
  8. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  9. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  10. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  11. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  18. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  19. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. Have you found your soul ________________?
  22. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?

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

Answer key

  1. cap — of ice
  2. mate — to breed
  3. fan — to cool the air
  4. rest — what's left
  5. rush — to hurry
  6. drill — the tool
  7. rush — a thrill
  8. rest — what's left
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. mate — a friend
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. march — music
  13. file — a line of people
  14. drill — army training
  15. march — the month
  16. file — a tool
  17. cap — a hat
  18. rest — a break
  19. drill — a practice
  20. file — a document
  21. mate — a partner
  22. rush — hurry
  23. march — the month
  24. cap — a lid

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