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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.

Make a worksheet

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: shower · present · march · file · scale · mine · stand · mate

  1. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. Have you found your soul ________________?
  4. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  5. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  8. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  9. I can't ________________ this cold.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  13. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  22. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  23. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  24. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. shower — rain
  3. mate — a partner
  4. scale — size or range
  5. scale — for weighing
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. mate — to breed
  8. present — the time now
  9. stand — to bear
  10. march — music
  11. file — a tool
  12. present — there
  13. scale — in music
  14. file — a line of people
  15. file — a document
  16. stand — on your feet
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. march — the month
  19. mine — for digging
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. present — a gift
  22. stand — for spectators
  23. mate — a friend
  24. shower — to wash

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