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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. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  5. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. That must've been a ________________.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  11. The ________________ market has crashed.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. Where did you ________________ them?
  14. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  20. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  21. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  24. I seem to be developing a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. stock — a soup base
  3. tear — from crying
  4. mug — a cup
  5. rash — a series
  6. cold — an illness
  7. rush — a thrill
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. capital — a city
  10. calf — of the leg
  11. stock — shares
  12. cold — not warm
  13. mug — to rob
  14. rush — hurry
  15. capital — money
  16. tear — from crying
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. stock — goods
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. rush — to hurry
  22. tear — to rip
  23. mug — a face
  24. rash — on the skin

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