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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.

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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. That was a fun ________________.
  3. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  4. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. Did you ________________ the meat?
  11. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  12. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  13. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  14. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  22. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a line of people
  2. game — a match
  3. season — in sport
  4. wave — of the sea
  5. tear — from crying
  6. pound — for dogs
  7. tear — to rip
  8. bore — to drill
  9. last — final
  10. season — to add flavour
  11. wave — with your hand
  12. pound — to hit hard
  13. pound — a weight
  14. wave — a sudden rise
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. bore — gave birth
  17. last — finally
  18. file — a tool
  19. tear — from crying
  20. game — wild animals
  21. season — of the year
  22. bore — to tire
  23. file — a document
  24. last — to go on

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