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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. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  2. The ________________ market has crashed.
  3. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  4. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  5. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  9. Have you found your soul ________________?
  10. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  11. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  12. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  13. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  18. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  19. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  20. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  21. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  22. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. Many English words ________________ from Latin.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — to rip
  2. stock — shares
  3. mate — a friend
  4. present — the time now
  5. scale — for weighing
  6. tear — from crying
  7. field — a subject
  8. stem — a stem cell
  9. mate — a partner
  10. squash — the sport
  11. present — there
  12. mate — to breed
  13. stock — goods
  14. field — farmland
  15. squash — to crush
  16. tear — from crying
  17. squash — the vegetable
  18. scale — in music
  19. scale — size or range
  20. present — a gift
  21. stem — of a plant
  22. stock — a soup base
  23. field — for sport
  24. stem — to come from

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