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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. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  2. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  3. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  4. Did you ________________ the meat?
  5. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  6. She's very handy with a ________________.
  7. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  8. The King held a masked ________________.
  9. He is an ace ________________.
  10. The ________________ market has crashed.
  11. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  14. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  17. He works in a ________________ mill.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. stock — a soup base
  3. saw — past of 'see'
  4. season — to add flavour
  5. season — of the year
  6. saw — the tool
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. ball — a dance
  9. pitcher — in baseball
  10. stock — shares
  11. season — in sport
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. ball — a great time
  14. stock — goods
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. ball — a round shape
  17. saw — the tool
  18. straw — a straw man

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