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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 116 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. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  3. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  9. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  10. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  11. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  16. What do you think of the new ________________?
  17. The ________________ market has crashed.
  18. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  24. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. ruler — a monarch
  3. pound — to hit hard
  4. tear — from crying
  5. pound — for dogs
  6. last — to go on
  7. tear — from crying
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. rash — a series
  10. pound — a weight
  11. stock — goods
  12. tear — to rip
  13. last — finally
  14. last — final
  15. stock — a soup base
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. stock — shares
  18. ruler — for measuring
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. ruler — for measuring
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. rash — on the skin
  24. cabinet — a cupboard

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