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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. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  2. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. Have you found your soul ________________?
  6. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  9. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  10. This piece is in a major ________________.
  11. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  12. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  13. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  14. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  15. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  19. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  20. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  21. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  22. The ________________ market has crashed.
  23. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  24. Did you ________________ the meat?

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

Answer key

  1. tear — to rip
  2. stock — goods
  3. tear — from crying
  4. tear — from crying
  5. mate — a partner
  6. net — for catching
  7. wound — an injury
  8. season — in sport
  9. key — the most important part
  10. key — in music
  11. mate — to breed
  12. season — of the year
  13. net — after costs
  14. face — to confront
  15. face — to point toward
  16. net — in sport
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. stock — a soup base
  19. mate — a friend
  20. face — part of the head
  21. key — for a lock
  22. stock — shares
  23. wound — an injury
  24. season — to add flavour

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