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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 124 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. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  2. My mare is ________________ in color.
  3. The ________________ market has crashed.
  4. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  10. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  19. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  22. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — a straw man
  2. bay — a horse colour
  3. stock — shares
  4. stock — goods
  5. land — ground
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. race — the arms race
  9. stock — a soup base
  10. bay — to keep at bay
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. race — humankind
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. leaves — of a tree
  15. land — to come down
  16. content — the amount
  17. content — happy
  18. race — a contest
  19. bay — a part of the sea
  20. shower — to wash
  21. leaves — to go away
  22. leaves — lets stay
  23. shower — rain
  24. land — a country

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