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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: hand · saw · tear · court · net · pit · stock · pop

  1. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. You don't need to ________________ round.
  6. We're almost out of ________________.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. She's very handy with a ________________.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. He works in a ________________ mill.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. The ________________ market has crashed.
  13. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  14. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  15. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  19. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  20. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  21. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. net — after costs
  4. tear — to rip
  5. pop — to visit
  6. pop — soda
  7. tear — from crying
  8. saw — the tool
  9. hand — in cards
  10. saw — the tool
  11. hand — help
  12. stock — shares
  13. net — in sport
  14. pit — in a race
  15. pop — music
  16. net — for catching
  17. court — for sport
  18. pit — a hole
  19. pit — a fruit stone
  20. stock — a soup base
  21. saw — past of 'see'
  22. court — of a king
  23. stock — goods
  24. court — of law

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