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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  2. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. It's one o'clock ________________.
  6. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  9. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. The ________________ market has crashed.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  16. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — with an edge
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. stock — goods
  4. bat — the animal
  5. sharp — exactly
  6. stock — a soup base
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. stick — to attach or keep to
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. band — a music group
  11. band — a ring
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. stock — shares
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. sharp — clever
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. bat — for baseball

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