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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. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  2. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  9. Did you ________________ the meat?
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. It's one o'clock ________________.
  17. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  18. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  21. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  24. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. season — of the year
  2. track — a song
  3. file — a tool
  4. spring — the season
  5. file — a line of people
  6. season — in sport
  7. tear — to rip
  8. track — a path
  9. season — to add flavour
  10. spring — of water
  11. track — to keep track
  12. file — a document
  13. spring — a coil
  14. tear — from crying
  15. bat — the animal
  16. sharp — exactly
  17. bank — for money
  18. bank — of a river
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. bank — for money
  21. sharp — clever
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. sharp — with an edge
  24. tear — from crying

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