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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. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  2. He works in a ________________ mill.
  3. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  4. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  5. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. It's one o'clock ________________.
  10. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  11. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  12. She's very handy with a ________________.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  17. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  18. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  23. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  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. wave — of the sea
  2. saw — the tool
  3. file — a document
  4. wave — a sudden rise
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. file — a line of people
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. file — a tool
  9. sharp — exactly
  10. saw — past of 'see'
  11. fan — to cool the air
  12. saw — the tool
  13. tear — from crying
  14. branch — of a bank
  15. ground — a position
  16. branch — a division
  17. wave — with your hand
  18. ground — crushed
  19. ground — the earth
  20. branch — of a tree
  21. tear — from crying
  22. sharp — clever
  23. sharp — with an edge
  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