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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: rest · stem · wind · track · file · tear · swing · mine

  1. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  5. David sat on the ________________.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  11. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  12. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  16. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  17. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  18. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  19. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  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. rest — what's left
  2. wind — moving air
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. file — a document
  5. swing — to play on
  6. file — a tool
  7. rest — what's left
  8. mine — for digging
  9. wind — moving air
  10. track — a path
  11. stem — a stem cell
  12. swing — music
  13. tear — from crying
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. rest — a break
  16. stem — of a plant
  17. track — to keep track
  18. stem — to come from
  19. swing — in golf
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. track — a song
  22. tear — from crying
  23. tear — to rip
  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