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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 120 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: ruler · tear · ground · object · stock · land · race · hide

  1. The ________________ market has crashed.
  2. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  18. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  19. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  24. There's no middle ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. hide — animal skin
  3. race — humankind
  4. tear — from crying
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. land — ground
  7. ground — crushed
  8. tear — from crying
  9. object — an aim
  10. land — to come down
  11. stock — a soup base
  12. ground — the earth
  13. ruler — for measuring
  14. race — a contest
  15. object — to protest
  16. tear — to rip
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. ruler — a monarch
  19. object — a thing
  20. land — a country
  21. stock — goods
  22. race — the arms race
  23. ruler — for measuring
  24. ground — a position

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