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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. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  3. The ________________ market has crashed.
  4. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  5. Have you settled on a ________________?
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  8. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  12. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  15. She's very handy with a ________________.
  16. He works in a ________________ mill.
  17. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  20. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  24. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. object — a thing
  3. stock — shares
  4. date — the fruit
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. tear — from crying
  7. bank — for money
  8. stock — goods
  9. cold — not warm
  10. tear — to rip
  11. bank — of a river
  12. stock — a soup base
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. object — an aim
  15. saw — the tool
  16. saw — the tool
  17. bank — for money
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. object — to protest
  20. saw — past of 'see'
  21. bark — to shout
  22. tear — from crying
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. bark — a dog's sound

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