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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. David sat on the ________________.
  2. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  6. The ________________ market has crashed.
  7. I'll be taking the ________________.
  8. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  14. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  19. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  20. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  21. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  22. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  23. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  24. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. swing — music
  3. game — a match
  4. tear — from crying
  5. stock — goods
  6. stock — shares
  7. tube — the underground
  8. trunk — of a car
  9. game — wild animals
  10. tear — to rip
  11. stock — a soup base
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. scale — in music
  14. tube — a container
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. tear — from crying
  18. swing — in golf
  19. scale — for weighing
  20. hide — animal skin
  21. trunk — of an elephant
  22. tube — in a tire
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. scale — size or range

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