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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. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  2. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  3. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  13. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  16. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  17. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  18. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  19. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  20. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  23. The ________________ market has crashed.
  24. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?

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

Answer key

  1. stock — goods
  2. present — there
  3. hide — animal skin
  4. ground — a position
  5. ground — the earth
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. ground — crushed
  10. tear — to rip
  11. tear — from crying
  12. present — the time now
  13. stock — a soup base
  14. tear — from crying
  15. cap — of ice
  16. cap — a lid
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. fan — to cool the air
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. cap — a hat
  23. stock — shares
  24. present — a gift

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