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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. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  2. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  9. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  10. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  16. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. The ________________ market has crashed.
  22. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  23. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — decided
  2. stock — a soup base
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. wind — moving air
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. mine — for digging
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. track — a song
  9. lash — a whip stroke
  10. firm — a company
  11. wind — moving air
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. lash — to lash out
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. track — to keep track
  16. lash — an eyelash
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. track — a path
  19. cell — a phone
  20. cell — in biology
  21. stock — shares
  22. stock — goods
  23. firm — steady
  24. straw — dry grass

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