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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 116 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. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  2. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. Don't do anything ________________.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. The ________________ market has crashed.
  18. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. rash — a series
  2. rash — on the skin
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. wound — an injury
  5. rash — hasty
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. safe — out of danger
  8. kid — child
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. safe — out of danger
  12. cell — in biology
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. wound — an injury
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. wind — moving air
  17. stock — shares
  18. safe — a strongbox
  19. kid — to tease
  20. stock — goods
  21. wind — moving air
  22. stock — a soup base
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. cell — a phone

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