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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 took cover from the thunder ________________.
  2. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  6. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  9. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  10. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  11. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  12. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  13. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  16. The ________________ market has crashed.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  20. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  24. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — rain
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. tear — to rip
  4. clip — a video
  5. stock — goods
  6. racket — a loud noise
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. cap — a lid
  9. bear — the animal
  10. pound — to hit hard
  11. bear — to put up with
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. bear — the animal
  14. clip — for paper
  15. stock — a soup base
  16. stock — shares
  17. tear — from crying
  18. clip — to cut
  19. pound — a weight
  20. cap — of ice
  21. tear — from crying
  22. shower — to wash
  23. cap — a hat
  24. pound — for dogs

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