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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 120 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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  4. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  7. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  8. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  9. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  10. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  13. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  14. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  15. The ________________ market has crashed.
  16. I'll be taking the ________________.
  17. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  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. kid — to tease
  2. tear — from crying
  3. mark — to pay attention
  4. wave — with your hand
  5. kid — child
  6. root — the cause
  7. mark — a trace
  8. tube — in a tire
  9. root — of a word
  10. wave — of the sea
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. row — a line
  13. stock — goods
  14. wave — a sudden rise
  15. stock — shares
  16. tube — the underground
  17. tube — a container
  18. tear — to rip
  19. root — of a plant
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. tear — from crying
  22. mark — a grade
  23. row — to paddle
  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