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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: file · rest · pound · tear · bowl · stock · land · rush

  1. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  2. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  3. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  4. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  11. The ________________ market has crashed.
  12. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  13. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  17. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  18. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  19. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  22. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  23. That must've been a ________________.
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. rush — to hurry
  3. bowl — a football final
  4. rest — a break
  5. land — ground
  6. file — a document
  7. file — a line of people
  8. land — to come down
  9. tear — to rip
  10. rest — what's left
  11. stock — shares
  12. rush — hurry
  13. bowl — a dish
  14. land — a country
  15. tear — from crying
  16. pound — a weight
  17. bowl — to roll
  18. stock — a soup base
  19. pound — for dogs
  20. tear — from crying
  21. stock — goods
  22. pound — to hit hard
  23. rush — a thrill
  24. file — a tool

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