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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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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. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  2. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  9. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  10. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  11. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. The ________________ market has crashed.
  18. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — to rip
  2. dip — to sink
  3. game — wild animals
  4. net — for catching
  5. net — in sport
  6. squash — to crush
  7. net — after costs
  8. stock — goods
  9. squash — the vegetable
  10. dip — to dunk
  11. squash — the sport
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. dip — a sauce
  14. tear — from crying
  15. stock — a soup base
  16. tear — from crying
  17. stock — shares
  18. game — a match

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