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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 120 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. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  2. The ________________ market has crashed.
  3. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  6. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  7. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  8. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  9. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  10. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  16. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  19. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  20. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  21. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. stock — shares
  3. foot — a measure
  4. kid — to tease
  5. foot — part of the body
  6. bear — the animal
  7. stock — a soup base
  8. stock — goods
  9. craft — a skill
  10. bear — to put up with
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. file — a document
  13. tear — from crying
  14. tear — from crying
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. craft — a handicraft
  17. kid — child
  18. craft — boats
  19. calf — of the leg
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. bear — the animal
  22. tear — to rip
  23. file — a line of people
  24. foot — the bottom

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