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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. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  2. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  5. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  6. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  7. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  8. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  9. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  10. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  11. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. The ________________ market has crashed.
  15. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. My father caught me by the ________________.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. tear — from crying
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. mouse — for a computer
  6. stock — goods
  7. fan — to cool the air
  8. foot — a measure
  9. foot — the bottom
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. foot — part of the body
  12. field — for sport
  13. shower — rain
  14. stock — shares
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. tear — to rip
  19. field — farmland
  20. tear — from crying
  21. mouse — the animal
  22. field — a subject
  23. shower — to wash
  24. arm — a part of something

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