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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. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  2. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  3. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  4. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  7. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  8. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  9. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  10. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  17. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  18. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  21. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  22. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. track — to keep track
  3. pass — to succeed
  4. track — a path
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. firm — a company
  7. track — a song
  8. root — the cause
  9. pass — a permit
  10. pass — to spend time
  11. tear — to rip
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. firm — decided
  14. tear — from crying
  15. bat — the animal
  16. firm — steady
  17. root — of a word
  18. club — for golf
  19. file — a line of people
  20. root — of a plant
  21. club — a group
  22. club — for dancing
  23. file — a document
  24. tear — from crying

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