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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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. The ________________ market has crashed.
  6. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  7. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  11. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  12. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  13. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  18. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  19. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  20. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  23. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. stock — goods
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. stock — shares
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. current — electric
  8. kid — child
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. stock — a soup base
  11. current — of water
  12. bear — the animal
  13. bear — to put up with
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. bear — the animal
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. current — happening now
  19. branch — of a bank
  20. branch — of a tree
  21. kid — to tease
  22. branch — a division
  23. racket — a loud noise
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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