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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. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  3. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  4. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. Have you found your soul ________________?
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  9. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  12. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  15. This piece is in a major ________________.
  16. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  17. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  18. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  21. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  24. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. lean — to bend
  3. lean — thin
  4. key — the most important part
  5. file — a document
  6. mate — a partner
  7. tear — to rip
  8. object — an aim
  9. mate — to breed
  10. tear — from crying
  11. object — a thing
  12. key — for a lock
  13. prune — to trim
  14. object — to protest
  15. key — in music
  16. present — there
  17. mate — a friend
  18. lean — to rest against
  19. tear — from crying
  20. prune — the fruit
  21. prune — to trim
  22. file — a line of people
  23. present — the time now
  24. present — a gift

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