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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. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  5. The ________________ market has crashed.
  6. The King held a masked ________________.
  7. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  10. We're on a ________________ here.
  11. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  16. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  17. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  20. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  21. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  22. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  23. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  24. The kitten curled into a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. firm — decided
  3. tear — to rip
  4. ball — a great time
  5. stock — shares
  6. ball — a dance
  7. branch — a division
  8. land — to come down
  9. stock — goods
  10. roll — on a roll
  11. firm — steady
  12. land — a country
  13. drill — army training
  14. tear — from crying
  15. drill — a practice
  16. roll — a list
  17. stock — a soup base
  18. tear — from crying
  19. firm — a company
  20. branch — of a tree
  21. roll — a cake
  22. drill — the tool
  23. branch — of a bank
  24. ball — a round shape

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