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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. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  2. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  3. Have you found your soul ________________?
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  8. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  11. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  12. Have you met the new head ________________?
  13. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. I'll be taking the ________________.
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  18. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  19. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  20. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  21. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  22. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. tear — to rip
  3. mate — a partner
  4. file — a tool
  5. mate — to breed
  6. tear — from crying
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. tear — from crying
  10. chip — to eat
  11. chip — for betting
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. net — after costs
  14. file — a document
  15. tube — the underground
  16. net — for catching
  17. coach — pulled by horses
  18. tube — in a tire
  19. net — in sport
  20. mate — a friend
  21. tube — a container
  22. chip — in a computer
  23. file — a line of people
  24. perch — the fish

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