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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. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  2. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  3. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  4. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  8. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  13. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  14. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  17. Have you settled on a ________________?
  18. The ________________ market has crashed.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. It's one o'clock ________________.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — goods
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. stem — of a plant
  4. stem — a stem cell
  5. tear — from crying
  6. tear — to rip
  7. jam — to spread on bread
  8. jam — in traffic
  9. tear — from crying
  10. sharp — clever
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. sharp — with an edge
  13. date — the fruit
  14. jam — a tight spot
  15. capital — a city
  16. stock — a soup base
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. stock — shares
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. sharp — exactly
  21. wind — moving air
  22. stem — to come from
  23. wind — moving air
  24. capital — money

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