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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. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  3. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  9. The ________________ market has crashed.
  10. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  11. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  16. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  17. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  18. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  19. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  22. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  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. tear — from crying
  2. wound — past of 'wind'
  3. wake — a trail
  4. spring — of water
  5. pound — to hit hard
  6. tear — to rip
  7. spring — the season
  8. lean — to rest against
  9. stock — shares
  10. track — a song
  11. stock — a soup base
  12. spring — a coil
  13. lean — to bend
  14. wound — an injury
  15. track — a path
  16. pound — for dogs
  17. pound — a weight
  18. wake — to stop sleeping
  19. track — to keep track
  20. wound — an injury
  21. lean — thin
  22. wake — before a funeral
  23. tear — from crying
  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