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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. What do you think of the new ________________?
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  6. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  7. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  14. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  17. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  18. Have you found your soul ________________?
  19. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  20. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  21. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  22. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — to breed
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. tear — from crying
  4. kid — to tease
  5. lean — to rest against
  6. lean — to bend
  7. pit — a hole
  8. march — the month
  9. tear — from crying
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. kid — child
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. toast — bread
  14. toast — a drink to someone
  15. tear — to rip
  16. toast — the most admired
  17. cabinet — a cupboard
  18. mate — a partner
  19. lean — thin
  20. pit — in a race
  21. mate — a friend
  22. pit — a fruit stone
  23. march — the month
  24. march — music

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