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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 116 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. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  2. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  3. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  6. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  10. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. The King held a masked ________________.
  14. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  15. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  16. The ________________ market has crashed.
  17. My mare is ________________ in color.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. object — a thing
  2. ball — a great time
  3. stock — goods
  4. wind — moving air
  5. bay — a part of the sea
  6. bay — to keep at bay
  7. cold — not warm
  8. cold — an illness
  9. object — to protest
  10. object — an aim
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. wind — moving air
  13. ball — a dance
  14. ball — a round shape
  15. stock — a soup base
  16. stock — shares
  17. bay — a horse colour
  18. cold — the Cold War

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