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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. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. Have you met the new head ________________?
  4. The ________________ market has crashed.
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  9. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  10. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  17. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  18. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  19. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  20. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  21. What do you think of the new ________________?
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. 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. straw — dry grass
  2. ground — crushed
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. stock — shares
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. cabinet — ministers
  7. content — happy
  8. coach — pulled by horses
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. bark — a dog's sound
  11. ground — a position
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. bark — to shout
  15. ground — the earth
  16. stock — goods
  17. cabinet — a cupboard
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. bark — of a tree
  20. stock — a soup base
  21. cabinet — ministers
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. content — the amount
  24. 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