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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. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  2. The ________________ went through the wall.
  3. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  4. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  5. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  6. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  9. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  14. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  15. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  16. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  20. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  21. The ________________ market has crashed.
  22. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  23. He is an ace ________________.
  24. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. safe — a strongbox
  5. nail — on a finger
  6. branch — of a bank
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. safe — out of danger
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. cold — an illness
  11. cold — not warm
  12. cell — a phone
  13. branch — a division
  14. bear — to put up with
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. bear — the animal
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. cell — in biology
  19. safe — out of danger
  20. bear — the animal
  21. stock — shares
  22. stock — goods
  23. pitcher — in baseball
  24. branch — of a tree

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