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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. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  6. The ________________ market has crashed.
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  9. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  12. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  13. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  14. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  19. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  22. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  23. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — to rip
  2. content — happy
  3. land — a country
  4. chair — a leader
  5. mark — a trace
  6. stock — shares
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. tear — from crying
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. stick — to attach or keep to
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. patient — calm and waiting
  15. land — to come down
  16. tear — from crying
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. mark — a grade
  19. mark — to pay attention
  20. land — ground
  21. stock — a soup base
  22. chair — a professorship
  23. stock — goods
  24. content — the amount

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