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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. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  5. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  8. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  9. The ________________ market has crashed.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  12. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  19. She's very handy with a ________________.
  20. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  21. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. He works in a ________________ mill.
  24. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. foot — part of the body
  3. tear — to rip
  4. stock — a soup base
  5. foot — a measure
  6. tear — from crying
  7. fork — to eat with
  8. fork — in a road
  9. stock — shares
  10. land — a country
  11. pass — to spend time
  12. foot — the bottom
  13. tear — from crying
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. pass — to succeed
  16. land — to come down
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. fork — a garden tool
  19. saw — the tool
  20. pass — a permit
  21. stock — goods
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. saw — the tool
  24. saw — past of 'see'

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