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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. She's very handy with a ________________.
  2. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  5. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  8. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  9. The ________________ took off on time.
  10. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. He works in a ________________ mill.
  15. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. Don't do anything ________________.
  20. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  21. This piece is in a major ________________.
  22. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  23. The ________________ market has crashed.
  24. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. rash — on the skin
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. rash — a series
  5. stock — a soup base
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. key — for a lock
  8. plane — a tool
  9. plane — an aircraft
  10. stock — goods
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. land — to come down
  13. land — ground
  14. saw — the tool
  15. key — the most important part
  16. net — in sport
  17. plane — in geometry
  18. land — a country
  19. rash — hasty
  20. net — after costs
  21. key — in music
  22. net — for catching
  23. stock — shares
  24. saw — past of 'see'

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