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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: tear · rule · track · swing · kid · stock · bay · deal

  1. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. My mare is ________________ in color.
  4. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. The ________________ market has crashed.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  9. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  10. David sat on the ________________.
  11. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  12. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  16. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  17. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  18. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  21. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  22. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  23. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  24. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — a big deal
  2. kid — to tease
  3. bay — a horse colour
  4. swing — in golf
  5. tear — from crying
  6. stock — shares
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. track — a song
  9. deal — an agreement
  10. swing — to play on
  11. bay — to keep at bay
  12. track — a path
  13. tear — from crying
  14. tear — to rip
  15. bay — a part of the sea
  16. track — to keep track
  17. rule — government
  18. rule — to rule out
  19. kid — child
  20. swing — music
  21. stock — goods
  22. stock — a soup base
  23. deal — to handle
  24. rule — a 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