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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. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  2. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  7. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  10. How do you ________________ your surname?
  11. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. The ________________ market has crashed.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  19. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  20. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  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. fine — a penalty
  2. tear — to rip
  3. degree — an amount
  4. firm — decided
  5. tear — from crying
  6. fine — high quality
  7. firm — steady
  8. degree — from a university
  9. spell — magic
  10. spell — letters
  11. fine — all right
  12. capital — a city
  13. capital — money
  14. tear — from crying
  15. stock — shares
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. kid — to tease
  18. firm — a company
  19. stock — goods
  20. spell — a short time
  21. kid — child
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. degree — temperature
  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