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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. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  2. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  3. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  4. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  7. We're almost out of ________________.
  8. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  15. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  18. The ________________ market has crashed.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. You don't need to ________________ round.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — with your hand
  2. wave — a sudden rise
  3. pop — music
  4. stock — goods
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. stem — of a plant
  7. pop — soda
  8. stock — a soup base
  9. wound — an injury
  10. tear — from crying
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. present — a gift
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. present — there
  15. stem — to come from
  16. tear — from crying
  17. wave — of the sea
  18. stock — shares
  19. tear — to rip
  20. pop — to visit
  21. bat — the animal
  22. stem — a stem cell
  23. wound — an injury
  24. present — the time now

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