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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. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  3. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  4. I'll be taking the ________________.
  5. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  6. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  7. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  8. The ________________ market has crashed.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  15. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  16. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  17. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  18. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  19. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  22. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  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. tear — from crying
  2. club — for dancing
  3. hide — animal skin
  4. tube — the underground
  5. scale — size or range
  6. stock — a soup base
  7. club — a group
  8. stock — shares
  9. spring — a coil
  10. vault — a safe
  11. tear — to rip
  12. club — for golf
  13. spring — of water
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. vault — an arched ceiling
  16. tube — a container
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. vault — in gymnastics
  19. scale — in music
  20. tear — from crying
  21. tube — in a tire
  22. scale — for weighing
  23. spring — the season
  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