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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 ________________ market has crashed.
  2. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  6. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  7. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. The ________________ took off on time.
  11. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  16. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  21. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. plane — in geometry
  3. file — a tool
  4. land — ground
  5. branch — of a tree
  6. branch — of a bank
  7. branch — a division
  8. land — a country
  9. tear — to rip
  10. plane — an aircraft
  11. stock — goods
  12. chest — a box
  13. stock — a soup base
  14. file — a line of people
  15. chest — of your body
  16. stick — to attach or keep to
  17. land — to come down
  18. plane — a tool
  19. tear — from crying
  20. stick — a piece of wood
  21. stick — a piece of wood
  22. tear — from crying
  23. file — a document
  24. chest — of your body

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