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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 ________________ market has crashed.
  2. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  3. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  4. That must've been a ________________.
  5. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  6. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  10. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. There's no middle ________________.
  13. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. Don't do anything ________________.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  20. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  23. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  24. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. present — a gift
  3. bore — to tire
  4. rush — a thrill
  5. stock — a soup base
  6. stock — goods
  7. tear — from crying
  8. tear — from crying
  9. rash — on the skin
  10. rash — a series
  11. tear — to rip
  12. ground — a position
  13. rush — to hurry
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. present — the time now
  16. ground — the earth
  17. rash — hasty
  18. shower — to wash
  19. present — there
  20. bore — to drill
  21. shower — rain
  22. rush — hurry
  23. ground — crushed
  24. bore — gave birth

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