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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. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  4. The ________________ market has crashed.
  5. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  6. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. We're on a ________________ here.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  11. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. Have you met the new head ________________?
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  17. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  18. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  19. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  24. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — past of 'wind'
  2. tear — from crying
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. stock — shares
  5. snap — to speak sharply
  6. stock — a soup base
  7. tear — to rip
  8. roll — on a roll
  9. degree — from a university
  10. foot — part of the body
  11. coach — pulled by horses
  12. wound — an injury
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. degree — an amount
  15. tear — from crying
  16. stock — goods
  17. foot — the bottom
  18. snap — to click
  19. snap — to snap out of it
  20. degree — temperature
  21. foot — a measure
  22. wound — an injury
  23. roll — a list
  24. roll — a cake

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