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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. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  2. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  3. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  4. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  5. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. The ________________ market has crashed.
  8. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. David sat on the ________________.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. The ________________ went through the wall.
  16. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  22. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  23. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — to rip
  2. stock — goods
  3. can — to be able to
  4. can — a tin
  5. nail — on a finger
  6. cold — an illness
  7. stock — shares
  8. stock — a soup base
  9. capital — a city
  10. cell — in biology
  11. swing — to play on
  12. tear — from crying
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. swing — music
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. cold — not warm
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. tear — from crying
  21. swing — in golf
  22. can — a tin
  23. cell — a phone
  24. capital — money

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