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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. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  3. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  4. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  5. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. He is an ace ________________.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. The ________________ market has crashed.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  16. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  17. There's no middle ________________.
  18. David sat on the ________________.
  19. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. I'll be taking the ________________.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. Add some ________________ pepper to it.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. ground — the earth
  3. tube — in a tire
  4. tube — a container
  5. swing — music
  6. wound — an injury
  7. tear — from crying
  8. pitcher — in baseball
  9. kid — child
  10. swing — in golf
  11. wound — an injury
  12. stock — shares
  13. kid — to tease
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. stock — goods
  17. ground — a position
  18. swing — to play on
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. tear — from crying
  21. tear — to rip
  22. tube — the underground
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. ground — crushed

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