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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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  8. The ________________ market has crashed.
  9. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  13. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  14. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  15. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  16. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  19. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  22. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  23. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  24. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. stock — goods
  3. tear — from crying
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. tear — to rip
  6. field — farmland
  7. pound — for dogs
  8. stock — shares
  9. snap — to snap out of it
  10. field — for sport
  11. hand — in cards
  12. pound — to hit hard
  13. mouse — the animal
  14. present — there
  15. snap — to click
  16. present — the time now
  17. field — a subject
  18. mouse — for a computer
  19. pound — a weight
  20. tear — from crying
  21. present — a gift
  22. snap — to speak sharply
  23. stock — a soup base
  24. mouse — the animal

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