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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. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  2. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  3. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  4. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. The ________________ went through the wall.
  7. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  10. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  11. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  12. The ________________ market has crashed.
  13. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  17. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  20. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  21. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  22. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  23. There's no middle ________________.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — for a hammer
  2. tear — to rip
  3. stock — a soup base
  4. ground — crushed
  5. cold — not warm
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. wave — with your hand
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. nail — on a finger
  10. bowl — a dish
  11. stock — goods
  12. stock — shares
  13. bank — for money
  14. tear — from crying
  15. tear — from crying
  16. bank — for money
  17. wave — a sudden rise
  18. cold — an illness
  19. bowl — a football final
  20. wave — of the sea
  21. bank — of a river
  22. bowl — to roll
  23. ground — a position
  24. ground — the earth

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