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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. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  2. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  3. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  13. The ________________ market has crashed.
  14. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  15. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  16. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  22. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  23. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  24. That was ________________ to happen.

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

Answer key

  1. can — a tin
  2. march — the month
  3. current — of water
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. march — the month
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. tear — from crying
  8. march — music
  9. bat — the animal
  10. tear — from crying
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. bound — tied together
  13. stock — shares
  14. stock — goods
  15. current — happening now
  16. current — electric
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. can — a tin
  20. tear — to rip
  21. can — to be able to
  22. bound — obliged
  23. stock — a soup base
  24. bound — certain

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