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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. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  5. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  8. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  9. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  16. The ________________ market has crashed.
  17. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  20. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  21. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. branch — a division
  5. branch — of a tree
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. pound — to hit hard
  8. lie — an untruth
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. shower — to wash
  13. kid — child
  14. cell — a phone
  15. pound — for dogs
  16. stock — shares
  17. stock — goods
  18. kid — to tease
  19. pound — a weight
  20. lie — to recline
  21. branch — of a bank
  22. cell — in biology
  23. shower — rain
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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