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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've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  2. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  3. He works in a ________________ mill.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  8. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  11. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  14. The ________________ market has crashed.
  15. She's very handy with a ________________.
  16. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  17. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  18. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  2. stock — a soup base
  3. saw — the tool
  4. tear — from crying
  5. kid — to tease
  6. tear — to rip
  7. saw — past of 'see'
  8. fork — to eat with
  9. tear — from crying
  10. stock — goods
  11. bass — low music
  12. kid — child
  13. fork — a garden tool
  14. stock — shares
  15. saw — the tool
  16. bass — the fish
  17. bass — the instrument
  18. fork — in a road

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