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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. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  3. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  6. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  7. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  8. My mare is ________________ in color.
  9. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  10. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  11. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  12. The ________________ market has crashed.
  13. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  23. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. hide — animal skin
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. cold — an illness
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. net — in sport
  7. row — to paddle
  8. bay — a horse colour
  9. bay — to keep at bay
  10. stock — goods
  11. bass — low music
  12. stock — shares
  13. bass — the fish
  14. row — a line
  15. net — after costs
  16. race — humankind
  17. race — the arms race
  18. row — a quarrel
  19. cold — not warm
  20. race — a contest
  21. net — for catching
  22. bay — a part of the sea
  23. bass — the instrument
  24. cold — the Cold War

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