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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. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. The ________________ market has crashed.
  8. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  11. Have you found your soul ________________?
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  14. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  17. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  18. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  19. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. degree — an amount
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. stock — goods
  6. tear — from crying
  7. stock — shares
  8. stock — a soup base
  9. chest — of your body
  10. board — a committee
  11. mate — a partner
  12. degree — from a university
  13. mate — a friend
  14. mark — a trace
  15. mine — for digging
  16. board — a flat piece
  17. board — to get on
  18. mark — a grade
  19. chest — of your body
  20. chest — a box
  21. mark — to pay attention
  22. tear — to rip
  23. mate — to breed
  24. degree — temperature

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