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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 124 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 goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  8. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. The ________________ market has crashed.
  15. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  16. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  17. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. I've got to change the light ________________.
  20. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  21. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. The light ________________ burned out.
  24. Many English words ________________ from Latin.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — dry grass
  2. wind — moving air
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. present — there
  5. wind — moving air
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. present — the time now
  8. stem — of a plant
  9. chest — of your body
  10. file — a tool
  11. present — a gift
  12. file — a document
  13. file — a line of people
  14. stock — shares
  15. chest — of your body
  16. bulb — of a plant
  17. stem — a stem cell
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. bulb — for light
  20. stock — goods
  21. stock — a soup base
  22. chest — a box
  23. bulb — for light
  24. stem — to come from

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