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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. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  4. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  7. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  8. He works in a ________________ mill.
  9. The ________________ market has crashed.
  10. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  11. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. She's very handy with a ________________.
  16. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  17. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  18. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  22. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — to rip
  2. wind — moving air
  3. squash — the sport
  4. squash — the vegetable
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. face — to confront
  7. cap — of ice
  8. saw — the tool
  9. stock — shares
  10. stock — a soup base
  11. squash — to crush
  12. court — of a king
  13. face — part of the head
  14. court — of law
  15. saw — the tool
  16. cap — a hat
  17. cap — a lid
  18. saw — past of 'see'
  19. wind — moving air
  20. tear — from crying
  21. stock — goods
  22. face — to point toward
  23. court — for sport
  24. tear — from crying

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