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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 116 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'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  12. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. The ________________ market has crashed.
  15. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  18. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  19. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  20. My mare is ________________ in color.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  24. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. tear — from crying
  3. wound — an injury
  4. rock — music
  5. net — after costs
  6. tear — from crying
  7. net — for catching
  8. net — in sport
  9. file — a document
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. bay — to keep at bay
  12. rock — to move gently
  13. file — a tool
  14. stock — shares
  15. stock — a soup base
  16. file — a line of people
  17. squash — to crush
  18. bay — a part of the sea
  19. rock — a stone
  20. bay — a horse colour
  21. tear — to rip
  22. wound — an injury
  23. squash — the vegetable
  24. stock — goods

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