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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. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  15. The ________________ market has crashed.
  16. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. My mare is ________________ in color.
  21. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  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. stock — goods
  2. degree — temperature
  3. land — ground
  4. land — a country
  5. lie — to recline
  6. land — to come down
  7. stock — a soup base
  8. tear — from crying
  9. kid — child
  10. clip — to cut
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. kid — to tease
  13. tear — to rip
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. stock — shares
  16. bay — a part of the sea
  17. degree — from a university
  18. bay — to keep at bay
  19. degree — an amount
  20. bay — a horse colour
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. tear — from crying
  23. clip — for paper
  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