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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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  3. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  4. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  5. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  6. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  7. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  8. The ________________ market has crashed.
  9. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  15. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  16. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  17. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  18. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  19. He is an ace ________________.
  20. It's one o'clock ________________.
  21. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  22. The tickets are free of ________________.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. sharp — with an edge
  3. stock — a soup base
  4. charge — in control
  5. stock — goods
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. stock — shares
  9. bowl — a football final
  10. tear — from crying
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. tear — from crying
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. charge — electricity
  15. bowl — to roll
  16. bowl — a dish
  17. patient — calm and waiting
  18. sharp — clever
  19. pitcher — in baseball
  20. sharp — exactly
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. charge — a price
  23. tear — to rip
  24. kid — child

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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