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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. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  2. We're almost out of ________________.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  6. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  7. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  8. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  9. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  10. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  13. Have you found your soul ________________?
  14. The ________________ took off on time.
  15. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  16. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  17. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  22. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. You don't need to ________________ round.

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

Answer key

  1. object — an aim
  2. pop — soda
  3. tear — from crying
  4. file — a tool
  5. bear — the animal
  6. pop — music
  7. bear — to put up with
  8. mate — a friend
  9. object — to protest
  10. scale — for weighing
  11. tear — to rip
  12. plane — in geometry
  13. mate — a partner
  14. plane — an aircraft
  15. scale — in music
  16. object — a thing
  17. plane — a tool
  18. tear — from crying
  19. scale — size or range
  20. file — a document
  21. bear — the animal
  22. mate — to breed
  23. file — a line of people
  24. pop — to visit

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