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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. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  3. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  6. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  13. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  14. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  15. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  16. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. The ________________ market has crashed.
  19. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  20. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  21. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  22. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  23. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  24. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — goods
  2. scale — size or range
  3. wave — of the sea
  4. kid — child
  5. stock — a soup base
  6. rest — a break
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. kid — to tease
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. fan — to cool the air
  13. rest — what's left
  14. scale — for weighing
  15. wave — a sudden rise
  16. rest — what's left
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. stock — shares
  19. stem — to come from
  20. stem — a stem cell
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. stem — of a plant
  23. scale — in music
  24. wave — with your hand

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