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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: march · fine · mate · file · game · leaves · stem · pass

  1. Have you found your soul ________________?
  2. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  7. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  8. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  11. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  12. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  13. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  14. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  15. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  20. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. stem — to come from
  3. game — wild animals
  4. leaves — to go away
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. fine — high quality
  7. stem — a stem cell
  8. fine — a penalty
  9. file — a tool
  10. fine — all right
  11. pass — to spend time
  12. mate — a friend
  13. stem — of a plant
  14. leaves — lets stay
  15. pass — to succeed
  16. file — a line of people
  17. march — the month
  18. march — the month
  19. leaves — of a tree
  20. mate — to breed
  21. game — a match
  22. march — music
  23. pass — a permit
  24. file — a document

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