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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. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  3. He works in a ________________ mill.
  4. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  8. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. What do you think of the new ________________?
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  15. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  16. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  17. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  18. She's very handy with a ________________.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  22. The ________________ market has crashed.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. tear — to rip
  3. saw — the tool
  4. stock — a soup base
  5. tear — from crying
  6. field — for sport
  7. saw — past of 'see'
  8. cabinet — a cupboard
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. field — farmland
  11. file — a document
  12. cabinet — ministers
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. stick — to attach or keep to
  18. saw — the tool
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. field — a subject
  21. stock — goods
  22. stock — shares
  23. file — a line of people
  24. file — a tool

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