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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: wake · kick · stock · scale · tear · rule · chest · wind

  1. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  8. The ________________ market has crashed.
  9. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  19. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  20. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  21. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  22. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  23. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  24. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — to rip
  2. wind — moving air
  3. rule — government
  4. chest — of your body
  5. kick — a thrill
  6. tear — from crying
  7. wake — a trail
  8. stock — shares
  9. scale — for weighing
  10. chest — a box
  11. stock — a soup base
  12. chest — of your body
  13. stock — goods
  14. tear — from crying
  15. rule — to rule out
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. wind — moving air
  18. kick — with a leg
  19. wake — to stop sleeping
  20. scale — size or range
  21. rule — a law
  22. wake — before a funeral
  23. kick — in football
  24. scale — in music

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