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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. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  5. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  10. Where did you ________________ them?
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. That must've been a ________________.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  16. Did you ________________ the meat?
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  19. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. You shouldn't ________________ things.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. stock — a soup base
  3. wind — moving air
  4. bore — gave birth
  5. mug — a cup
  6. land — a country
  7. stock — goods
  8. tear — from crying
  9. bore — to tire
  10. mug — to rob
  11. land — ground
  12. rush — a thrill
  13. tear — to rip
  14. wind — moving air
  15. mug — a face
  16. season — to add flavour
  17. tear — from crying
  18. season — of the year
  19. bore — to drill
  20. season — in sport
  21. rush — hurry
  22. land — to come down
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. rush — to hurry

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