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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. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  2. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  4. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  8. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  9. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  15. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  18. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  19. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  22. The ________________ market has crashed.
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.

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

Answer key

  1. object — to protest
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. fan — to cool the air
  4. file — a document
  5. file — a tool
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. stock — goods
  8. object — a thing
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. file — a line of people
  11. tear — from crying
  12. bark — to shout
  13. band — a music group
  14. prune — the fruit
  15. stock — a soup base
  16. tear — to rip
  17. bark — of a tree
  18. prune — to trim
  19. object — an aim
  20. tear — from crying
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. stock — shares
  23. band — a ring
  24. prune — to trim

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