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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. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. The ________________ market has crashed.
  8. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  9. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  12. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. You don't need to ________________ round.
  15. When will it ________________ you to start?
  16. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. That must've been a ________________.
  21. We're almost out of ________________.
  22. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  23. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  24. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. pop — music
  3. tear — from crying
  4. snap — to click
  5. wind — moving air
  6. wind — moving air
  7. stock — shares
  8. snap — to snap out of it
  9. suit — in cards
  10. tear — to rip
  11. rush — to hurry
  12. stock — goods
  13. land — a country
  14. pop — to visit
  15. suit — to fit
  16. snap — to speak sharply
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. rush — hurry
  19. land — to come down
  20. rush — a thrill
  21. pop — soda
  22. stock — a soup base
  23. suit — clothes
  24. tear — from crying

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