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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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Word bank
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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: ground · kick · racket · lie · tear · stock · spring · present

  1. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  2. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  5. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  6. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  7. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  8. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  11. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  12. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  15. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  16. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  17. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  18. The ________________ market has crashed.
  19. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  22. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — to rip
  2. present — the time now
  3. ground — a position
  4. ground — the earth
  5. present — a gift
  6. kick — with a leg
  7. racket — a loud noise
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. spring — of water
  10. lie — to recline
  11. kick — a thrill
  12. lie — an untruth
  13. spring — the season
  14. stock — a soup base
  15. kick — in football
  16. ground — crushed
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. stock — shares
  19. stock — goods
  20. tear — from crying
  21. present — there
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. spring — a coil
  24. tear — from crying

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