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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. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  5. He works in a ________________ mill.
  6. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  9. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  10. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  15. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. She's very handy with a ________________.
  19. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  20. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. The ________________ market has crashed.
  23. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  24. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. cue — a signal
  3. tear — from crying
  4. firm — decided
  5. saw — the tool
  6. club — for golf
  7. tear — to rip
  8. firm — steady
  9. firm — a company
  10. club — a group
  11. chest — of your body
  12. march — music
  13. chest — a box
  14. cue — for pool
  15. chest — of your body
  16. march — the month
  17. march — the month
  18. saw — the tool
  19. cue — a hint
  20. club — for dancing
  21. tear — from crying
  22. stock — shares
  23. saw — past of 'see'
  24. stock — goods

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