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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. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  2. The ________________ market has crashed.
  3. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  4. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  5. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  6. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  7. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  8. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  9. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  12. I'll be taking the ________________.
  13. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  14. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  15. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  16. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  17. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  22. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  23. Have you met the new head ________________?
  24. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. stock — shares
  3. bass — the fish
  4. coach — pulled by horses
  5. present — a gift
  6. squash — the vegetable
  7. bass — low music
  8. tube — in a tire
  9. squash — to crush
  10. shower — to wash
  11. tube — a container
  12. tube — the underground
  13. squash — the sport
  14. present — there
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. stock — goods
  17. bass — the instrument
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. lie — to recline
  20. shower — rain
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. present — the time now

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