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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. False peace will not ________________.
  2. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  4. What do you think of the new ________________?
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. The ________________ market has crashed.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. I'll be taking the ________________.
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  23. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. file — a tool
  3. drill — a practice
  4. cabinet — ministers
  5. court — of a king
  6. drill — the tool
  7. last — final
  8. stock — goods
  9. court — for sport
  10. cabinet — a cupboard
  11. tear — from crying
  12. drill — army training
  13. last — finally
  14. stock — shares
  15. court — of law
  16. tube — a container
  17. file — a document
  18. tube — the underground
  19. file — a line of people
  20. stock — a soup base
  21. tear — from crying
  22. tube — in a tire
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. tear — to rip

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