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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. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  4. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  8. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  11. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  12. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  15. The ________________ market has crashed.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  18. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  19. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  24. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. wind — moving air
  3. season — in sport
  4. stock — goods
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. shower — to wash
  7. season — of the year
  8. trunk — of a tree
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. mouse — the animal
  11. rock — a stone
  12. mouse — the animal
  13. tear — to rip
  14. rock — to move gently
  15. stock — shares
  16. shower — rain
  17. mouse — for a computer
  18. rock — music
  19. trunk — of an elephant
  20. wind — moving air
  21. stock — a soup base
  22. tear — from crying
  23. trunk — of a car
  24. tear — from crying

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