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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. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  3. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  11. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  22. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  23. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  24. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. file — a document
  3. fork — a garden tool
  4. net — after costs
  5. race — the arms race
  6. race — humankind
  7. race — a contest
  8. tear — to rip
  9. land — ground
  10. net — in sport
  11. present — the time now
  12. land — to come down
  13. present — there
  14. tear — from crying
  15. file — a line of people
  16. tear — from crying
  17. fine — a penalty
  18. land — a country
  19. net — for catching
  20. file — a tool
  21. fine — all right
  22. fork — in a road
  23. fine — high quality
  24. fork — to eat with

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