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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. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. That must've been a ________________.
  3. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  4. The ________________ market has crashed.
  5. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  8. David sat on the ________________.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  11. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  12. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  13. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  16. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  23. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  24. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. rush — a thrill
  3. bank — of a river
  4. stock — shares
  5. rush — hurry
  6. tear — to rip
  7. stock — goods
  8. swing — to play on
  9. tear — from crying
  10. swing — in golf
  11. rock — a stone
  12. stock — a soup base
  13. rush — to hurry
  14. tear — from crying
  15. fork — to eat with
  16. rock — to move gently
  17. cold — an illness
  18. bank — for money
  19. cold — not warm
  20. fork — in a road
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. swing — music
  23. bank — for money
  24. fork — a garden tool

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