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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 116 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. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  4. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  5. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  6. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  7. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  8. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  9. Did you ________________ the meat?
  10. The ________________ market has crashed.
  11. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  16. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  17. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  18. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  19. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  20. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  21. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  22. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  23. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  24. Let us try to swim against the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. tear — from crying
  3. stock — goods
  4. current — electric
  5. trunk — of a car
  6. current — happening now
  7. squash — to crush
  8. trunk — of an elephant
  9. season — to add flavour
  10. stock — shares
  11. stock — a soup base
  12. tear — to rip
  13. pitch — a sales talk
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. season — of the year
  16. trunk — of a tree
  17. bark — to shout
  18. season — in sport
  19. bark — of a tree
  20. squash — the vegetable
  21. pitch — completely
  22. squash — the sport
  23. pitch — a sports field
  24. current — of water

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