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

Word bank: file · tear · kid · bowl · track · bay · plane · stand

  1. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  4. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  5. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  6. My mare is ________________ in color.
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  9. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  12. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  13. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  14. I can't ________________ this cold.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. The ________________ took off on time.
  17. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  18. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  24. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. tear — from crying
  3. track — a path
  4. file — a document
  5. plane — a tool
  6. bay — a horse colour
  7. file — a line of people
  8. bowl — a dish
  9. bowl — to roll
  10. file — a tool
  11. track — to keep track
  12. stand — for spectators
  13. bay — to keep at bay
  14. stand — to bear
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. plane — an aircraft
  17. stand — on your feet
  18. plane — in geometry
  19. kid — child
  20. bowl — a football final
  21. tear — from crying
  22. tear — to rip
  23. track — a song
  24. bay — a part of the sea

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