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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 has no idea where the ________________ is.
  2. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  5. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  6. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  7. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  14. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  17. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  18. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  21. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  22. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. safe — a strongbox
  2. safe — out of danger
  3. tear — from crying
  4. present — there
  5. foot — a measure
  6. present — a gift
  7. root — the cause
  8. file — a tool
  9. wound — an injury
  10. safe — out of danger
  11. wound — an injury
  12. file — a line of people
  13. root — of a word
  14. foot — part of the body
  15. tear — to rip
  16. mark — a grade
  17. mark — a trace
  18. present — the time now
  19. tear — from crying
  20. foot — the bottom
  21. mark — to pay attention
  22. root — of a plant
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. file — a document

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