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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. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  2. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  5. Did you ________________ the meat?
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  15. That was ________________ to happen.
  16. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  19. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?

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

Answer key

  1. file — a document
  2. season — in sport
  3. land — a country
  4. bear — the animal
  5. season — to add flavour
  6. file — a tool
  7. bound — obliged
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. file — a line of people
  10. land — ground
  11. tear — from crying
  12. bear — the animal
  13. land — to come down
  14. bound — tied together
  15. bound — certain
  16. bear — to put up with
  17. tear — from crying
  18. season — of the year
  19. cap — of ice
  20. tear — to rip
  21. cap — a hat
  22. wind — moving air
  23. wind — moving air
  24. cap — a lid

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