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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've got to change the light ________________.
  2. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  3. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  6. What do you think of the new ________________?
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  9. The ________________ market has crashed.
  10. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  14. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  17. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. Don't do anything ________________.
  23. The light ________________ burned out.
  24. What's the difference between broth and ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. stock — goods
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. tear — from crying
  5. hide — animal skin
  6. cabinet — ministers
  7. tear — to rip
  8. bulb — of a plant
  9. stock — shares
  10. cabinet — a cupboard
  11. shower — rain
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. rash — on the skin
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. rash — a series
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. tear — from crying
  19. shower — to wash
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. rash — hasty
  23. bulb — for light
  24. stock — a soup base

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