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

Word bank: file · saw · board · wind · last · scale · tear · root

  1. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. He works in a ________________ mill.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  7. She's very handy with a ________________.
  8. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  9. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  16. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  24. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — in music
  2. wind — moving air
  3. last — final
  4. saw — the tool
  5. tear — to rip
  6. root — the cause
  7. saw — the tool
  8. board — a flat piece
  9. board — a committee
  10. last — finally
  11. file — a document
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. root — of a plant
  14. wind — moving air
  15. saw — past of 'see'
  16. root — of a word
  17. file — a tool
  18. last — to go on
  19. tear — from crying
  20. board — to get on
  21. file — a line of people
  22. tear — from crying
  23. scale — for weighing
  24. scale — size or range

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