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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 120 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. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  5. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  6. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  9. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  13. The ________________ market has crashed.
  14. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  15. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  16. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  17. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. We were using a ________________ as a seat.

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

Answer key

  1. object — to protest
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. tear — from crying
  4. rock — music
  5. present — the time now
  6. rock — to move gently
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. squash — to crush
  9. present — a gift
  10. spring — of water
  11. tear — to rip
  12. squash — the vegetable
  13. stock — shares
  14. object — an aim
  15. present — there
  16. squash — the sport
  17. stock — a soup base
  18. spring — a coil
  19. tear — from crying
  20. stock — goods
  21. spring — the season
  22. object — a thing
  23. bat — the animal
  24. rock — a stone

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