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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 cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  5. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  8. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  9. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  10. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  11. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  19. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  20. I'll be taking the ________________.
  21. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  22. The ________________ market has crashed.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. Boris sat near the fire ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. wind — moving air
  4. foot — a measure
  5. foot — the bottom
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. pit — a fruit stone
  8. tube — in a tire
  9. tube — a container
  10. foot — part of the body
  11. stock — a soup base
  12. tear — to rip
  13. pit — in a race
  14. spring — of water
  15. spring — the season
  16. wind — moving air
  17. tear — from crying
  18. stock — goods
  19. chair — a leader
  20. tube — the underground
  21. chair — a professorship
  22. stock — shares
  23. spring — a coil
  24. pit — a hole

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