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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. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. The ________________ market has crashed.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  5. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  6. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. That must've been a ________________.
  10. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. The ________________ went through the wall.
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  21. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  22. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  23. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  24. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. stock — shares
  3. tear — from crying
  4. mark — to pay attention
  5. kick — in football
  6. stock — a soup base
  7. chest — a box
  8. chest — of your body
  9. rush — a thrill
  10. kick — a thrill
  11. tear — from crying
  12. kick — with a leg
  13. band — a music group
  14. mark — a grade
  15. chest — of your body
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. tear — to rip
  20. rush — to hurry
  21. nail — on a finger
  22. stock — goods
  23. mark — a trace
  24. band — a ring

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