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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 120 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. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  8. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  9. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  12. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  17. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  20. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — to rip
  2. march — music
  3. snap — to click
  4. snap — to snap out of it
  5. file — a document
  6. content — the amount
  7. chip — in a computer
  8. wave — with your hand
  9. fork — to eat with
  10. march — the month
  11. snap — to speak sharply
  12. chip — to eat
  13. file — a tool
  14. wave — of the sea
  15. tear — from crying
  16. content — happy
  17. wave — a sudden rise
  18. file — a line of people
  19. fork — in a road
  20. fork — a garden tool
  21. march — the month
  22. tear — from crying
  23. chip — for betting
  24. content — videos and posts

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