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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. The ________________ market has crashed.
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  6. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  7. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  8. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  9. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  10. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  13. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  14. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  15. The King held a masked ________________.
  16. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  17. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  18. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  21. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  22. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. What's the difference between broth and ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. march — music
  3. tear — to rip
  4. tear — from crying
  5. cap — a hat
  6. can — to be able to
  7. ball — a round shape
  8. present — the time now
  9. can — a tin
  10. stock — goods
  11. tear — from crying
  12. cap — of ice
  13. stem — of a plant
  14. stem — a stem cell
  15. ball — a dance
  16. stem — to come from
  17. present — a gift
  18. cap — a lid
  19. march — the month
  20. ball — a great time
  21. can — a tin
  22. present — there
  23. march — the month
  24. stock — a soup base

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