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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. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  2. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. The ________________ market has crashed.
  5. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  6. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  13. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  14. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  15. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  21. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  22. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  23. The King held a masked ________________.
  24. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. ball — a great time
  3. ground — crushed
  4. stock — shares
  5. stock — a soup base
  6. stock — goods
  7. ground — a position
  8. squash — the sport
  9. file — a document
  10. squash — the vegetable
  11. ground — the earth
  12. hide — animal skin
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. track — a song
  16. file — a line of people
  17. tear — to rip
  18. squash — to crush
  19. tear — from crying
  20. ball — a round shape
  21. track — to keep track
  22. track — a path
  23. ball — a dance
  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