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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. We're on a ________________ here.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  5. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  8. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  9. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  10. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  11. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  12. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  13. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  18. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  19. The ________________ market has crashed.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — on a roll
  2. tear — from crying
  3. degree — from a university
  4. wake — before a funeral
  5. stock — goods
  6. degree — an amount
  7. roll — a cake
  8. lie — to recline
  9. bowl — to roll
  10. roll — a list
  11. stock — a soup base
  12. bowl — a football final
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. clip — to cut
  15. clip — for paper
  16. degree — temperature
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. wake — to stop sleeping
  19. stock — shares
  20. tear — to rip
  21. clip — a video
  22. wake — a trail
  23. tear — from crying
  24. bowl — a dish

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