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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 124 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 teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  2. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  3. The light ________________ burned out.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  6. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  7. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  8. I've got to change the light ________________.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. The ________________ market has crashed.
  15. We're on a ________________ here.
  16. When was this ________________ built?
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  20. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  23. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — a list
  2. tear — to rip
  3. bulb — for light
  4. mine — for digging
  5. bulb — of a plant
  6. stock — a soup base
  7. temple — side of the head
  8. bulb — for light
  9. tear — from crying
  10. stock — goods
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. lean — to rest against
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. stock — shares
  15. roll — on a roll
  16. temple — a place of worship
  17. file — a tool
  18. tear — from crying
  19. roll — a cake
  20. temple — a place of worship
  21. file — a line of people
  22. lean — to bend
  23. lean — thin
  24. file — a document

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