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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. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. The ________________ market has crashed.
  3. We're on a ________________ here.
  4. I'll be taking the ________________.
  5. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  6. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  7. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  10. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  11. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  12. He is an ace ________________.
  13. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  14. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  15. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  16. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  17. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  18. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  19. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  20. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  21. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  22. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  23. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. stock — shares
  3. roll — on a roll
  4. tube — the underground
  5. squash — to crush
  6. stock — a soup base
  7. bear — the animal
  8. tear — from crying
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. stock — goods
  11. roll — a cake
  12. pitcher — in baseball
  13. bear — to put up with
  14. squash — the sport
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. tube — in a tire
  17. roll — a list
  18. squash — the vegetable
  19. bear — the animal
  20. chip — in a computer
  21. tube — a container
  22. chip — to eat
  23. chip — for betting
  24. tear — to rip

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