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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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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: tear · cold · fine · row · stock · bulb · file · wake

  1. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  5. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. I've got to change the light ________________.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  12. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  17. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  18. The ________________ market has crashed.
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  21. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  22. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  24. The light ________________ burned out.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — to rip
  2. tear — from crying
  3. cold — not warm
  4. stock — a soup base
  5. fine — high quality
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. cold — an illness
  8. bulb — for light
  9. tear — from crying
  10. row — to paddle
  11. wake — before a funeral
  12. stock — goods
  13. file — a document
  14. row — a line
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. wake — a trail
  17. wake — to stop sleeping
  18. stock — shares
  19. file — a line of people
  20. fine — all right
  21. fine — a penalty
  22. bulb — of a plant
  23. file — a tool
  24. bulb — for light

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