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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: tear · cold · rest · wave · stock · object

  1. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  3. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  4. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  5. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  10. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  11. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  12. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  13. The ________________ market has crashed.
  14. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  18. I would like to have a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. object — an aim
  3. rest — what's left
  4. stock — goods
  5. wave — of the sea
  6. cold — not warm
  7. tear — from crying
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. wave — a sudden rise
  10. stock — a soup base
  11. object — a thing
  12. object — to protest
  13. stock — shares
  14. wave — with your hand
  15. tear — to rip
  16. tear — from crying
  17. rest — what's left
  18. rest — a break

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