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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. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. I'll be taking the ________________.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. What do you think of the new ________________?
  6. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  10. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  13. Have you found your soul ________________?
  14. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  19. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a line of people
  2. bat — the animal
  3. tube — the underground
  4. tear — to rip
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. cabinet — a cupboard
  7. tear — from crying
  8. file — a tool
  9. tube — a container
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. net — for catching
  13. mate — a partner
  14. mate — a friend
  15. last — final
  16. mate — to breed
  17. net — in sport
  18. net — after costs
  19. tube — in a tire
  20. last — finally
  21. tear — from crying
  22. last — to go on
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. file — a document

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