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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. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  6. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  7. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  10. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  11. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  12. When was this ________________ built?
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  15. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  18. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  19. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  20. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  21. It's one o'clock ________________.
  22. Have you found your soul ________________?
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  24. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — to breed
  2. leaves — to go away
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. cold — not warm
  5. leaves — of a tree
  6. sharp — clever
  7. sharp — with an edge
  8. cold — an illness
  9. temple — a place of worship
  10. rest — what's left
  11. pound — to hit hard
  12. temple — a place of worship
  13. file — a document
  14. pound — for dogs
  15. pound — a weight
  16. file — a line of people
  17. mate — a friend
  18. leaves — lets stay
  19. rest — a break
  20. rest — what's left
  21. sharp — exactly
  22. mate — a partner
  23. file — a tool
  24. temple — side of the head

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