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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. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. The ________________ market has crashed.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  9. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  12. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. We're almost out of ________________.
  15. You don't need to ________________ round.
  16. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  17. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a line of people
  2. tear — from crying
  3. stock — shares
  4. tear — to rip
  5. pop — music
  6. file — a document
  7. court — for sport
  8. track — a path
  9. stock — goods
  10. file — a tool
  11. track — to keep track
  12. band — a music group
  13. tear — from crying
  14. pop — soda
  15. pop — to visit
  16. stock — a soup base
  17. track — a song
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. land — a country
  20. land — ground
  21. court — of a king
  22. band — a ring
  23. land — to come down
  24. court — of law

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