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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. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  2. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  8. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  9. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  10. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  17. My father caught me by the ________________.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  23. The ________________ market has crashed.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — to rip
  2. dip — to sink
  3. content — the amount
  4. content — happy
  5. stock — goods
  6. tear — from crying
  7. dip — to dunk
  8. cue — a signal
  9. dip — a sauce
  10. stock — a soup base
  11. band — a ring
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. cue — for pool
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. tear — from crying
  19. arm — a part of something
  20. band — a music group
  21. cold — not warm
  22. cue — a hint
  23. stock — shares
  24. cold — an illness

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