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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: stock · kid · spring · tear · ruler · nail · season · date

  1. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  2. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  3. Did you ________________ the meat?
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  8. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  9. Have you settled on a ________________?
  10. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  11. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  12. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  19. The ________________ went through the wall.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. The ________________ market has crashed.
  23. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. ruler — a monarch
  2. stock — a soup base
  3. season — to add flavour
  4. tear — to rip
  5. spring — a coil
  6. spring — of water
  7. nail — on a finger
  8. date — the fruit
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. stock — goods
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. ruler — for measuring
  13. tear — from crying
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. tear — from crying
  16. ruler — for measuring
  17. spring — the season
  18. season — in sport
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. kid — child
  22. stock — shares
  23. season — of the year
  24. kid — to tease

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