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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. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  2. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  8. The ________________ market has crashed.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  13. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  14. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  15. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  22. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a line of people
  2. root — of a plant
  3. last — to go on
  4. root — the cause
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. tear — from crying
  7. ruler — a monarch
  8. stock — shares
  9. last — final
  10. file — a tool
  11. file — a document
  12. root — of a word
  13. fall — the season
  14. stock — goods
  15. fall — to drop
  16. last — finally
  17. stock — a soup base
  18. cold — not warm
  19. fall — to drop
  20. tear — from crying
  21. ruler — for measuring
  22. ruler — for measuring
  23. cold — an illness
  24. tear — to rip

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