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

  1. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  4. The ________________ market has crashed.
  5. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  6. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. It's one o'clock ________________.
  9. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  17. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  18. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — with an edge
  2. band — a music group
  3. mark — to pay attention
  4. stock — shares
  5. dip — a sauce
  6. dip — to sink
  7. tear — from crying
  8. sharp — exactly
  9. dip — to dunk
  10. tear — from crying
  11. mark — a trace
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. tear — to rip
  14. mark — a grade
  15. band — a ring
  16. sharp — clever
  17. stock — a soup base
  18. stock — goods

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