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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. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  3. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. The ________________ market has crashed.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  14. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  17. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  18. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  19. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  20. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  21. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  22. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  23. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. squash — the vegetable
  3. club — for dancing
  4. game — wild animals
  5. club — for golf
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. tear — from crying
  8. wound — an injury
  9. stock — shares
  10. tear — to rip
  11. wound — an injury
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. mark — a grade
  14. mark — a trace
  15. squash — to crush
  16. stock — goods
  17. club — a group
  18. stock — a soup base
  19. mark — to pay attention
  20. craft — boats
  21. craft — a skill
  22. squash — the sport
  23. craft — a handicraft
  24. game — a match

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