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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. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  2. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  10. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  14. The ________________ market has crashed.
  15. She's very handy with a ________________.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  18. That was ________________ to happen.
  19. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  20. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  21. He works in a ________________ mill.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  24. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. branch — of a bank
  3. tear — to rip
  4. field — for sport
  5. tear — from crying
  6. hide — animal skin
  7. tear — from crying
  8. field — farmland
  9. bound — obliged
  10. branch — a division
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. shower — to wash
  13. saw — past of 'see'
  14. stock — shares
  15. saw — the tool
  16. shower — rain
  17. branch — of a tree
  18. bound — certain
  19. stock — goods
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. saw — the tool
  22. field — a subject
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. bound — tied together

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