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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. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  2. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  3. My mare is ________________ in color.
  4. The ________________ market has crashed.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  10. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  13. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  14. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  15. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  21. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  22. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  23. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  24. There's no middle ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — bread
  2. ground — the earth
  3. bay — a horse colour
  4. stock — shares
  5. hand — help
  6. ground — crushed
  7. stock — goods
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. bay — to keep at bay
  10. cap — of ice
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. toast — a drink to someone
  13. leaves — to go away
  14. cap — a lid
  15. leaves — lets stay
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. toast — the most admired
  18. hand — in cards
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. cap — a hat
  21. bay — a part of the sea
  22. stock — a soup base
  23. leaves — of a tree
  24. ground — a position

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