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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 116 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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: tube · fan · row · bat · stock · perch · tear · face

  1. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  5. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. The ________________ market has crashed.
  8. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  11. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  14. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  15. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  16. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  17. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  18. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  19. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  20. I'll be taking the ________________.
  21. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  22. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  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 — from crying
  2. stock — a soup base
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. tube — a container
  6. tear — to rip
  7. stock — shares
  8. stock — goods
  9. row — to paddle
  10. face — to point toward
  11. face — to confront
  12. bat — the animal
  13. perch — the fish
  14. fan — to cool the air
  15. face — part of the head
  16. tube — in a tire
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. tube — the underground
  21. row — a line
  22. row — a quarrel
  23. bat — for baseball
  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