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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. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  2. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  15. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  18. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. file — a line of people
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. firm — a company
  5. tear — to rip
  6. shower — rain
  7. tear — from crying
  8. firm — decided
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. tear — from crying
  12. cell — a phone
  13. field — a subject
  14. stick — to attach or keep to
  15. bore — gave birth
  16. field — farmland
  17. firm — steady
  18. bore — to tire
  19. field — for sport
  20. bore — to drill
  21. file — a document
  22. stick — a piece of wood
  23. shower — to wash
  24. cell — in biology

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