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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 surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  2. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  3. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  8. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  11. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  12. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  13. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. The ________________ market has crashed.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  18. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  19. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  20. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. He works in a ________________ mill.
  23. She's very handy with a ________________.
  24. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — of the sea
  2. pound — to hit hard
  3. ruler — a monarch
  4. tear — from crying
  5. pound — for dogs
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. stock — a soup base
  8. wave — with your hand
  9. bat — the animal
  10. jam — to spread on bread
  11. saw — past of 'see'
  12. stock — goods
  13. pound — a weight
  14. tear — to rip
  15. stock — shares
  16. tear — from crying
  17. ruler — for measuring
  18. jam — a tight spot
  19. ruler — for measuring
  20. wave — a sudden rise
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. saw — the tool
  23. saw — the tool
  24. jam — in traffic

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