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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. The ________________ market has crashed.
  2. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. There's no middle ________________.
  7. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  8. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  9. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  10. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  11. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  15. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  16. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  17. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  18. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  21. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  22. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. stock — goods
  3. ground — crushed
  4. present — a gift
  5. bat — the animal
  6. ground — a position
  7. stock — a soup base
  8. present — the time now
  9. toast — the most admired
  10. ground — the earth
  11. rock — to move gently
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. tear — from crying
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. rock — a stone
  16. perch — the fish
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. toast — a drink to someone
  19. tear — to rip
  20. present — there
  21. rock — music
  22. toast — bread
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. tear — from crying

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