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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. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. It's one o'clock ________________.
  5. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  6. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  10. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. The ________________ market has crashed.
  14. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  24. He keeps ________________ of his days.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — a trace
  2. land — a country
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. sharp — exactly
  5. mark — a grade
  6. stock — a soup base
  7. land — to come down
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. track — a song
  10. sharp — with an edge
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. land — ground
  13. stock — shares
  14. stock — goods
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. mark — to pay attention
  17. bat — the animal
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. shower — to wash
  21. track — a path
  22. shower — rain
  23. sharp — clever
  24. track — to keep track

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