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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. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  2. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  3. Don't do anything ________________.
  4. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  7. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  8. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  9. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  10. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  13. The ________________ market has crashed.
  14. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. The ________________ went through the wall.
  18. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  21. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  22. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. I'll be taking the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — thin
  2. stock — a soup base
  3. rash — hasty
  4. stock — goods
  5. tear — from crying
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. lean — to rest against
  9. lean — to bend
  10. rash — a series
  11. tear — to rip
  12. nail — on a finger
  13. stock — shares
  14. tube — in a tire
  15. wind — moving air
  16. wind — moving air
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. tear — from crying
  20. fan — to cool the air
  21. rash — on the skin
  22. tube — a container
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. tube — the underground

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