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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. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  2. The ________________ market has crashed.
  3. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  6. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  7. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  8. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  9. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  10. How do you ________________ your surname?
  11. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  12. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  13. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  14. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  15. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — a big deal
  2. stock — shares
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. stock — goods
  6. spell — magic
  7. fan — to cool the air
  8. stock — a soup base
  9. deal — an agreement
  10. spell — letters
  11. spell — a short time
  12. deal — to handle
  13. track — to keep track
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. track — a path
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. track — a song
  18. straw — to clutch at straws

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