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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. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  2. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  3. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  13. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  18. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. ruler — a monarch
  2. spell — magic
  3. bass — the fish
  4. file — a line of people
  5. pit — in a race
  6. tear — from crying
  7. spell — letters
  8. march — the month
  9. spell — a short time
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. file — a tool
  12. ruler — for measuring
  13. ruler — for measuring
  14. file — a document
  15. bass — the instrument
  16. tear — from crying
  17. pit — a fruit stone
  18. row — a line
  19. row — to paddle
  20. pit — a hole
  21. march — the month
  22. bass — low music
  23. march — music
  24. tear — to rip

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