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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. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  2. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  3. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  4. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  5. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  11. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  14. The ________________ market has crashed.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  19. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  20. He is an ace ________________.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — to succeed
  2. pass — a permit
  3. wake — to stop sleeping
  4. stock — goods
  5. wake — before a funeral
  6. tear — from crying
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. tear — from crying
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. mouse — the animal
  12. tear — to rip
  13. pass — to spend time
  14. stock — shares
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. stock — a soup base
  17. wound — an injury
  18. wake — a trail
  19. mouse — for a computer
  20. pitcher — in baseball
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. mouse — the animal
  23. straw — a straw man
  24. wound — an injury

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