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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. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  2. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  9. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  10. Don't do anything ________________.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. That must've been a ________________.
  14. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  15. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  18. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  19. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  20. The ________________ market has crashed.
  21. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. tear — to rip
  2. stock — a soup base
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. tear — from crying
  5. ground — a position
  6. clip — to cut
  7. cold — an illness
  8. pound — a weight
  9. stock — goods
  10. rash — hasty
  11. tear — from crying
  12. ground — the earth
  13. rush — a thrill
  14. rush — hurry
  15. pound — to hit hard
  16. cold — not warm
  17. pound — for dogs
  18. rash — a series
  19. ground — crushed
  20. stock — shares
  21. rash — on the skin
  22. clip — for paper
  23. rush — to hurry
  24. clip — a video

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