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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: tear · foot · object · stand · file · cell · club · deal

  1. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  3. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  4. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  7. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  8. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  9. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  10. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  11. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  12. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  17. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  21. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. I can't ________________ this cold.
  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. cell — a phone
  2. tear — to rip
  3. foot — the bottom
  4. object — to protest
  5. file — a tool
  6. deal — a big deal
  7. object — a thing
  8. club — for golf
  9. deal — an agreement
  10. foot — a measure
  11. club — for dancing
  12. deal — to handle
  13. tear — from crying
  14. foot — part of the body
  15. tear — from crying
  16. stand — for spectators
  17. stand — on your feet
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. cell — in biology
  20. club — a group
  21. object — an aim
  22. file — a document
  23. stand — to bear
  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