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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. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  5. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. The ________________ market has crashed.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  14. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  15. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  18. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  22. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  24. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — dry grass
  2. tear — from crying
  3. tear — to rip
  4. can — a tin
  5. fan — to cool the air
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. can — to be able to
  8. file — a tool
  9. can — a tin
  10. file — a document
  11. stock — shares
  12. file — a line of people
  13. stock — a soup base
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. wax — in the ear
  16. clip — for paper
  17. stock — goods
  18. wax — to grow
  19. clip — to cut
  20. clip — a video
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. wax — for sculpting
  23. straw — a straw man
  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