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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.

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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. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  2. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  9. That was ________________ to happen.
  10. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  11. The ________________ market has crashed.
  12. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  13. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  14. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  20. How do you ________________ your surname?
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  23. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — in music
  2. tear — to rip
  3. file — a tool
  4. bound — obliged
  5. file — a document
  6. spell — magic
  7. tear — from crying
  8. root — the cause
  9. bound — certain
  10. stock — goods
  11. stock — shares
  12. stock — a soup base
  13. scale — for weighing
  14. root — of a plant
  15. tear — from crying
  16. mine — for digging
  17. root — of a word
  18. file — a line of people
  19. spell — a short time
  20. spell — letters
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. scale — size or range
  23. bound — tied together
  24. mine — an explosive

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