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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 information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  2. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  7. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  8. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  12. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  13. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  14. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  15. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  19. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  22. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. Can you turn the ________________ on?

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

Answer key

  1. file — a document
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. snap — to click
  4. tear — to rip
  5. file — a tool
  6. can — a tin
  7. racket — a loud noise
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. row — to paddle
  10. tear — from crying
  11. snap — to snap out of it
  12. patient — calm and waiting
  13. can — a tin
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. can — to be able to
  16. tear — from crying
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. snap — to speak sharply
  20. row — a line
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. file — a line of people
  24. fan — to cool the air

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