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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. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  2. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  4. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  8. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  9. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. The ________________ market has crashed.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  14. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  18. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  21. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — the animal
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. rule — to rule out
  4. stock — a soup base
  5. prune — to trim
  6. wound — an injury
  7. rule — a law
  8. bear — the animal
  9. stock — goods
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. stock — shares
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. deal — an agreement
  14. bear — to put up with
  15. wound — an injury
  16. band — a ring
  17. prune — to trim
  18. prune — the fruit
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. deal — a big deal
  21. deal — to handle
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. rule — government
  24. band — a music group

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