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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. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. It's one o'clock ________________.
  8. The ________________ market has crashed.
  9. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  10. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  11. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  12. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  13. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  18. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  21. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  22. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  23. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  24. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. safe — out of danger
  3. tear — from crying
  4. tear — to rip
  5. safe — out of danger
  6. cold — an illness
  7. sharp — exactly
  8. stock — shares
  9. stock — goods
  10. stock — a soup base
  11. bowl — to roll
  12. root — of a word
  13. safe — a strongbox
  14. tear — from crying
  15. snap — to speak sharply
  16. cold — not warm
  17. bowl — a football final
  18. bowl — a dish
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. sharp — clever
  21. root — the cause
  22. snap — to snap out of it
  23. sharp — with an edge
  24. root — of a plant

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