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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. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  6. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  7. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  8. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  9. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  10. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  11. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  15. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  20. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. The ________________ market has crashed.
  24. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to bend
  2. tear — from crying
  3. fine — a penalty
  4. wound — an injury
  5. fine — high quality
  6. fan — to cool the air
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. root — the cause
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. stock — a soup base
  11. lean — thin
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. band — a music group
  14. fine — all right
  15. stock — goods
  16. band — a ring
  17. lean — to rest against
  18. wound — an injury
  19. root — of a word
  20. root — of a plant
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. tear — to rip
  23. stock — shares
  24. tear — from crying

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