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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. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  2. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  4. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. That must've been a ________________.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  10. The ________________ market has crashed.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  14. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. What do you think of the new ________________?
  18. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  22. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  23. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  24. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — to shout
  2. file — a tool
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. rush — to hurry
  5. tear — from crying
  6. rush — a thrill
  7. tear — to rip
  8. file — a document
  9. stock — goods
  10. stock — shares
  11. clip — to cut
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. racket — a loud noise
  14. stock — a soup base
  15. file — a line of people
  16. clip — for paper
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. rush — hurry
  19. clip — a video
  20. tear — from crying
  21. cabinet — ministers
  22. cabinet — a cupboard
  23. bark — a dog's sound
  24. racket — for tennis

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