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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: mate · file · present · wind · kid · march

  1. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  2. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  3. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. Have you found your soul ________________?
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?

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

Answer key

  1. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  2. mate — to breed
  3. file — a document
  4. march — music
  5. present — a gift
  6. march — the month
  7. present — there
  8. file — a line of people
  9. kid — to tease
  10. march — the month
  11. wind — moving air
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. wind — moving air
  14. present — the time now
  15. file — a tool
  16. mate — a partner
  17. kid — child
  18. mate — a friend

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