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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 120 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. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  3. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  8. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  14. The ________________ went through the wall.
  15. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  16. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  17. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  18. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. The King held a masked ________________.
  23. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  24. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. rest — a break
  3. face — to confront
  4. land — ground
  5. tear — to rip
  6. tear — from crying
  7. craft — a handicraft
  8. ball — a round shape
  9. file — a document
  10. land — a country
  11. craft — a skill
  12. file — a tool
  13. face — part of the head
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. face — to point toward
  16. rest — what's left
  17. nail — on a finger
  18. ball — a great time
  19. file — a line of people
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. land — to come down
  22. ball — a dance
  23. craft — boats
  24. rest — what's left

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