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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. The ________________ market has crashed.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. Where did you ________________ them?
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  18. He refilled his coffee ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. kid — to tease
  3. mug — to rob
  4. tear — from crying
  5. tear — from crying
  6. ruler — for measuring
  7. shower — to wash
  8. mug — a face
  9. shower — rain
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. ruler — a monarch
  12. tear — to rip
  13. stock — goods
  14. kid — child
  15. stock — a soup base
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. ruler — for measuring
  18. mug — a cup

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