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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. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  3. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  4. We're almost out of ________________.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. That must've been a ________________.
  11. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  16. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  17. The ________________ market has crashed.
  18. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  22. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  23. You don't need to ________________ round.
  24. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. stock — goods
  3. stock — a soup base
  4. pop — soda
  5. field — farmland
  6. capital — money
  7. wake — to stop sleeping
  8. capital — a city
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. rush — a thrill
  11. wake — before a funeral
  12. tear — from crying
  13. pound — a weight
  14. field — for sport
  15. pound — for dogs
  16. rush — to hurry
  17. stock — shares
  18. wake — a trail
  19. field — a subject
  20. tear — to rip
  21. rush — hurry
  22. pound — to hit hard
  23. pop — to visit
  24. pop — music

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