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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. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  14. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  15. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  19. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  20. The ________________ market has crashed.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  23. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — goods
  2. tear — from crying
  3. scale — for weighing
  4. tear — from crying
  5. chest — of your body
  6. degree — from a university
  7. shower — rain
  8. board — a committee
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. degree — an amount
  11. ruler — a monarch
  12. chest — a box
  13. ruler — for measuring
  14. scale — size or range
  15. stock — a soup base
  16. tear — to rip
  17. degree — temperature
  18. scale — in music
  19. board — a flat piece
  20. stock — shares
  21. shower — to wash
  22. ruler — for measuring
  23. board — to get on
  24. chest — of your body

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