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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: mate · lean · march · game · kick · bulb · toast · file

  1. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  2. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. I've got to change the light ________________.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  6. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  7. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  12. Have you found your soul ________________?
  13. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  14. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. The light ________________ burned out.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a friend
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. bulb — for light
  4. march — the month
  5. toast — the most admired
  6. toast — bread
  7. kick — in football
  8. file — a tool
  9. bulb — of a plant
  10. march — music
  11. toast — a drink to someone
  12. mate — a partner
  13. lean — to rest against
  14. lean — thin
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. mate — to breed
  17. file — a line of people
  18. kick — with a leg
  19. game — wild animals
  20. march — the month
  21. lean — to bend
  22. file — a document
  23. game — a match
  24. bulb — for light

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