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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. That was a fun ________________.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  15. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  16. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  22. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. tear — from crying
  3. land — ground
  4. file — a document
  5. tear — from crying
  6. file — a tool
  7. bowl — to roll
  8. land — to come down
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. file — a line of people
  11. march — the month
  12. bowl — a football final
  13. tear — to rip
  14. bowl — a dish
  15. mark — a grade
  16. deal — a big deal
  17. march — music
  18. march — the month
  19. mark — a trace
  20. game — wild animals
  21. deal — an agreement
  22. deal — to handle
  23. land — a country
  24. mark — to pay attention

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