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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: pit · file · content · fine · board · cold · tear · bound

  1. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  2. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  4. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  7. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  8. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  15. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  16. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  19. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  20. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  21. That was ________________ to happen.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  24. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — to rip
  2. file — a tool
  3. board — a flat piece
  4. fine — high quality
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. fine — a penalty
  7. board — to get on
  8. pit — in a race
  9. content — the amount
  10. file — a line of people
  11. cold — not warm
  12. file — a document
  13. tear — from crying
  14. bound — obliged
  15. fine — all right
  16. pit — a fruit stone
  17. cold — an illness
  18. pit — a hole
  19. content — happy
  20. bound — tied together
  21. bound — certain
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. tear — from crying
  24. board — a committee

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