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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. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  5. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  6. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  9. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  10. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  18. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a document
  2. tear — from crying
  3. land — ground
  4. face — to confront
  5. bowl — to roll
  6. bowl — a football final
  7. tear — to rip
  8. bowl — a dish
  9. track — to keep track
  10. branch — of a tree
  11. tear — from crying
  12. land — to come down
  13. branch — a division
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. branch — of a bank
  16. wind — moving air
  17. track — a song
  18. face — to point toward
  19. file — a tool
  20. land — a country
  21. face — part of the head
  22. wind — moving air
  23. track — a path
  24. file — a line of people

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