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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. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  2. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  3. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  4. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. The ________________ market has crashed.
  7. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. He is an ace ________________.
  11. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  12. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  13. The ________________ went through the wall.
  14. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  17. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  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. stock — a soup base
  2. tear — to rip
  3. stock — goods
  4. fall — the season
  5. tear — from crying
  6. stock — shares
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. bark — to shout
  10. pitcher — in baseball
  11. fall — to drop
  12. bark — a dog's sound
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. nail — on a finger
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. fall — to drop
  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