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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: tear · rush · stock · squash · lie · fork · cold · pass

  1. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  2. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  5. The ________________ market has crashed.
  6. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  7. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  11. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  12. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  17. That must've been a ________________.
  18. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  19. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  20. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  21. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — to hurry
  2. lie — an untruth
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. pass — a permit
  5. stock — shares
  6. squash — the vegetable
  7. pass — to succeed
  8. squash — the sport
  9. cold — an illness
  10. stock — a soup base
  11. lie — an untruth
  12. pass — to spend time
  13. tear — from crying
  14. fork — to eat with
  15. tear — from crying
  16. fork — a garden tool
  17. rush — a thrill
  18. fork — in a road
  19. stock — goods
  20. rush — hurry
  21. squash — to crush
  22. tear — to rip
  23. cold — not warm
  24. lie — to recline

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