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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. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  3. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  4. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  5. We're almost out of ________________.
  6. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  7. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  10. The ________________ market has crashed.
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  13. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  17. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  18. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  24. You don't need to ________________ round.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. stock — goods
  3. bowl — a football final
  4. bowl — to roll
  5. pop — soda
  6. stock — a soup base
  7. vault — in gymnastics
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. bowl — a dish
  10. stock — shares
  11. race — humankind
  12. pop — music
  13. vault — a safe
  14. race — the arms race
  15. wound — an injury
  16. branch — of a bank
  17. branch — a division
  18. branch — of a tree
  19. tear — to rip
  20. vault — an arched ceiling
  21. tear — from crying
  22. wound — an injury
  23. race — a contest
  24. pop — to visit

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