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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 surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  2. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  3. The ________________ market has crashed.
  4. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  5. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  6. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  9. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  12. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  19. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  20. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  21. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  24. We had a fire ________________ at school today.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — of the sea
  2. club — for dancing
  3. stock — shares
  4. wave — a sudden rise
  5. staff — employees
  6. stock — goods
  7. cold — an illness
  8. club — for golf
  9. stock — a soup base
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. club — a group
  12. drill — army training
  13. tear — to rip
  14. staff — a stick
  15. tear — from crying
  16. staff — employees
  17. tear — from crying
  18. fork — to eat with
  19. wave — with your hand
  20. fork — in a road
  21. drill — the tool
  22. cold — not warm
  23. fork — a garden tool
  24. drill — a practice

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