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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 120 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. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  3. When was this ________________ built?
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. The ________________ market has crashed.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  10. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  11. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  14. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  15. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  16. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. stock — a soup base
  3. temple — a place of worship
  4. capital — a city
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. stock — shares
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. temple — a place of worship
  10. stock — goods
  11. bank — for money
  12. tear — to rip
  13. bank — for money
  14. object — a thing
  15. temple — side of the head
  16. bank — of a river
  17. bat — the animal
  18. capital — money
  19. object — an aim
  20. tear — from crying
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. object — to protest
  23. cold — not warm
  24. cold — an illness

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