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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. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  2. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  7. When will it ________________ you to start?
  8. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  9. He is an ace ________________.
  10. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. The ________________ market has crashed.
  13. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  14. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  18. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  22. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. row — to paddle
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. tear — to rip
  4. cue — a hint
  5. spring — the season
  6. cue — for pool
  7. suit — to fit
  8. suit — in cards
  9. pitcher — in baseball
  10. stock — goods
  11. shower — to wash
  12. stock — shares
  13. row — a quarrel
  14. stock — a soup base
  15. spring — a coil
  16. tear — from crying
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. cue — a signal
  19. tear — from crying
  20. shower — rain
  21. suit — clothes
  22. row — a line
  23. spring — of water
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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