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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 had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. The ________________ market has crashed.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. What do you think of the new ________________?
  9. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  14. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  15. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  16. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  23. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  24. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. stock — shares
  3. chest — of your body
  4. chest — a box
  5. stock — a soup base
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. row — a line
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. bear — the animal
  10. tear — to rip
  11. tear — from crying
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. fine — all right
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. fine — a penalty
  16. bear — the animal
  17. row — to paddle
  18. mine — for digging
  19. tear — from crying
  20. fine — high quality
  21. chest — of your body
  22. stock — goods
  23. cabinet — a cupboard
  24. bear — to put up with

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