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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 116 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. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. The ________________ market has crashed.
  10. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. That was ________________ to happen.
  13. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  21. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. row — to paddle
  2. tear — to rip
  3. band — a ring
  4. capital — money
  5. mark — a trace
  6. tear — from crying
  7. bound — tied together
  8. capital — a city
  9. stock — shares
  10. stock — a soup base
  11. row — a line
  12. bound — certain
  13. mark — to pay attention
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. row — a quarrel
  19. tear — from crying
  20. bound — obliged
  21. mark — a grade
  22. band — a music group
  23. stock — goods
  24. mine — for digging

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