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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. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  2. David sat on the ________________.
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  7. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  8. It's one o'clock ________________.
  9. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  13. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  14. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  17. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  18. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  21. The ________________ market has crashed.
  22. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  23. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  24. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — goods
  2. swing — to play on
  3. band — a ring
  4. dip — to dunk
  5. tear — from crying
  6. stock — a soup base
  7. sharp — clever
  8. sharp — exactly
  9. sharp — with an edge
  10. band — a music group
  11. tear — from crying
  12. dip — to sink
  13. mark — a grade
  14. mark — a trace
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. swing — in golf
  17. dip — a sauce
  18. jam — to spread on bread
  19. tear — to rip
  20. mark — to pay attention
  21. stock — shares
  22. swing — music
  23. jam — a tight spot
  24. jam — in traffic

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