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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 116 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: last · pass · tear · file · stock · lean · kid · can

  1. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  10. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  11. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  12. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  16. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  19. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  20. The ________________ market has crashed.
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. Recycle the empty soda ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. last — final
  3. stock — a soup base
  4. file — a tool
  5. kid — to tease
  6. pass — to spend time
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. last — to go on
  9. pass — a permit
  10. can — a tin
  11. lean — thin
  12. can — to be able to
  13. file — a document
  14. tear — to rip
  15. pass — to succeed
  16. lean — to bend
  17. last — finally
  18. lean — to rest against
  19. stock — goods
  20. stock — shares
  21. tear — from crying
  22. tear — from crying
  23. file — a line of people
  24. can — a tin

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