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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. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  2. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  8. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  9. The ________________ market has crashed.
  10. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. Have you met the new head ________________?
  15. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  20. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  21. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  24. He has no idea where the ________________ is.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. wound — an injury
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. cap — a hat
  6. chest — of your body
  7. club — for golf
  8. stock — goods
  9. stock — shares
  10. coach — pulled by horses
  11. wound — an injury
  12. club — a group
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. club — for dancing
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. chest — a box
  18. chest — of your body
  19. safe — out of danger
  20. cap — of ice
  21. cap — a lid
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. safe — out of danger
  24. safe — a strongbox

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