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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. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  2. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  5. He works in a ________________ mill.
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  10. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  11. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. She's very handy with a ________________.
  14. The ________________ market has crashed.
  15. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  18. What's the difference between broth and ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. mark — to pay attention
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. chair — a leader
  4. stock — goods
  5. saw — the tool
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. mark — a grade
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. saw — past of 'see'
  10. rock — music
  11. rock — a stone
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. saw — the tool
  14. stock — shares
  15. mark — a trace
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. rock — to move gently
  18. stock — a soup base

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