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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. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  6. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  7. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  11. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  14. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  17. The ________________ market has crashed.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  20. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  21. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  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. file — a line of people
  3. tear — from crying
  4. wound — an injury
  5. stock — goods
  6. bass — the instrument
  7. wave — of the sea
  8. wound — an injury
  9. file — a tool
  10. bass — the fish
  11. wave — a sudden rise
  12. file — a document
  13. firm — steady
  14. bass — low music
  15. degree — temperature
  16. wave — with your hand
  17. stock — shares
  18. degree — an amount
  19. firm — a company
  20. stock — a soup base
  21. firm — decided
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. degree — from a university
  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