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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. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  2. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  5. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  10. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  13. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. The ________________ market has crashed.
  16. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. row — to paddle
  2. fall — the season
  3. field — a subject
  4. stock — a soup base
  5. pitch — completely
  6. field — farmland
  7. stock — goods
  8. row — a line
  9. pitch — a sales talk
  10. fall — to drop
  11. field — for sport
  12. pitch — a sports field
  13. fall — to drop
  14. tear — from crying
  15. stock — shares
  16. row — a quarrel
  17. tear — to rip
  18. tear — from crying

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