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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 120 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 supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  2. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  3. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  6. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  7. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  8. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. The ________________ market has crashed.
  11. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  12. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  13. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  14. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  15. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  18. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  22. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — goods
  2. rock — a stone
  3. dip — to dunk
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. dip — a sauce
  6. bore — to drill
  7. stock — a soup base
  8. rock — music
  9. cold — an illness
  10. stock — shares
  11. scale — in music
  12. dip — to sink
  13. present — the time now
  14. bore — to tire
  15. scale — size or range
  16. cold — not warm
  17. bore — gave birth
  18. rock — to move gently
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. present — a gift
  22. scale — for weighing
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. present — there

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