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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. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  2. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  3. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  18. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  21. Have you settled on a ________________?
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — to rip
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. track — a path
  4. tear — from crying
  5. cell — a phone
  6. cell — in biology
  7. track — to keep track
  8. content — the amount
  9. firm — steady
  10. file — a line of people
  11. content — happy
  12. tear — from crying
  13. court — for sport
  14. file — a document
  15. court — of law
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. track — a song
  18. firm — a company
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. firm — decided
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. file — a tool
  23. court — of a king
  24. date — the fruit

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