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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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. I've got to change the light ________________.
  5. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  11. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  14. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  15. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  16. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  17. The ________________ market has crashed.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. It's one o'clock ________________.
  22. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  23. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  24. The light ________________ burned out.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. hand — help
  3. chair — a leader
  4. bulb — for light
  5. bulb — of a plant
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. firm — decided
  9. hand — in cards
  10. firm — steady
  11. firm — a company
  12. bat — the animal
  13. pound — a weight
  14. chair — a professorship
  15. pound — for dogs
  16. sharp — with an edge
  17. stock — shares
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. pound — to hit hard
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. sharp — exactly
  22. stock — goods
  23. sharp — clever
  24. bulb — for light

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