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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. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  2. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  3. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  4. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  5. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  11. The ________________ market has crashed.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  14. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  19. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  20. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  21. There's no middle ________________.
  22. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  23. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. lash — to lash out
  2. file — a line of people
  3. lash — a whip stroke
  4. net — in sport
  5. ground — the earth
  6. tear — to rip
  7. file — a document
  8. ground — crushed
  9. tear — from crying
  10. lash — an eyelash
  11. stock — shares
  12. tear — from crying
  13. object — an aim
  14. object — to protest
  15. net — for catching
  16. object — a thing
  17. file — a tool
  18. stock — goods
  19. fork — to eat with
  20. fork — in a road
  21. ground — a position
  22. stock — a soup base
  23. fork — a garden tool
  24. net — after costs

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