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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. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. The ________________ market has crashed.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  14. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  17. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  20. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  21. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. perch — the fish
  3. chest — a box
  4. stock — shares
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. kid — child
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. tear — from crying
  9. stock — goods
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. board — a flat piece
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. board — to get on
  14. branch — a division
  15. tear — to rip
  16. branch — of a bank
  17. branch — of a tree
  18. kid — to tease
  19. stock — a soup base
  20. board — a committee
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. mine — for digging
  23. chest — of your body
  24. chest — of your body

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