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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 116 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: mine · march · leaves · file · pitcher · last · lie · staff

  1. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  2. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  3. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  19. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  23. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  24. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. file — a document
  3. leaves — of a tree
  4. last — to go on
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. lie — to recline
  8. march — music
  9. staff — a stick
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. lie — an untruth
  12. last — finally
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. march — the month
  15. march — the month
  16. leaves — lets stay
  17. file — a line of people
  18. leaves — to go away
  19. staff — employees
  20. file — a tool
  21. mine — for digging
  22. staff — employees
  23. lie — an untruth
  24. last — final

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