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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. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  2. He works in a ________________ mill.
  3. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  8. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. Don't do anything ________________.
  11. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  12. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  13. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  14. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. She's very handy with a ________________.
  20. The ________________ market has crashed.
  21. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  22. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  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. row — to paddle
  2. saw — the tool
  3. fan — to cool the air
  4. tear — from crying
  5. stock — a soup base
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. trunk — of an elephant
  9. chest — of your body
  10. rash — hasty
  11. rash — a series
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. trunk — of a car
  14. saw — past of 'see'
  15. tear — to rip
  16. rash — on the skin
  17. chest — a box
  18. tear — from crying
  19. saw — the tool
  20. stock — shares
  21. trunk — of a tree
  22. chest — of your body
  23. row — a line
  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