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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 120 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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

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

  1. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  4. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  10. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  13. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  14. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  15. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  16. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  17. The ________________ market has crashed.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a line of people
  2. tear — from crying
  3. cue — a hint
  4. spell — magic
  5. tear — to rip
  6. spell — letters
  7. fork — to eat with
  8. file — a document
  9. stock — goods
  10. spell — a short time
  11. tear — from crying
  12. fork — in a road
  13. cue — a signal
  14. cue — for pool
  15. stock — a soup base
  16. fork — a garden tool
  17. stock — shares
  18. file — a tool

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