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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. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. The ________________ market has crashed.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  5. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  8. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  9. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  10. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  11. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  12. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  13. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  14. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  15. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  16. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. What do you think of the new ________________?
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. stock — shares
  3. tear — to rip
  4. file — a document
  5. fall — to drop
  6. file — a line of people
  7. staff — a stick
  8. fall — to drop
  9. cabinet — a cupboard
  10. staff — employees
  11. stock — a soup base
  12. rest — what's left
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. rest — what's left
  15. staff — employees
  16. rest — a break
  17. file — a tool
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. march — music
  20. stock — goods
  21. tear — from crying
  22. march — the month
  23. march — the month
  24. fall — the season

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