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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. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  2. The ________________ market has crashed.
  3. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  6. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  7. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  11. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  12. I can't ________________ this cold.
  13. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. Have you settled on a ________________?
  17. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  18. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  19. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. Should I buy a wireless ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — the animal
  2. stock — shares
  3. stock — goods
  4. wound — an injury
  5. mouse — the animal
  6. stand — on your feet
  7. stock — a soup base
  8. tear — from crying
  9. net — for catching
  10. present — a gift
  11. date — the fruit
  12. stand — to bear
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. wound — an injury
  15. net — in sport
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. stand — for spectators
  18. present — there
  19. present — the time now
  20. tear — to rip
  21. net — after costs
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. tear — from crying
  24. mouse — for a computer

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