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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. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. The ________________ market has crashed.
  6. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  10. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  11. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  23. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  24. That must've been a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — goods
  2. tear — from crying
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. band — a music group
  5. stock — shares
  6. rush — hurry
  7. field — farmland
  8. band — a ring
  9. stick — to attach or keep to
  10. cap — a lid
  11. rush — to hurry
  12. field — for sport
  13. race — humankind
  14. stock — a soup base
  15. race — the arms race
  16. race — a contest
  17. tear — from crying
  18. tear — to rip
  19. field — a subject
  20. stick — a piece of wood
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. cap — a hat
  23. cap — of ice
  24. rush — a thrill

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