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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 116 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. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. Where did you ________________ them?
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. The ________________ market has crashed.
  8. There's no middle ________________.
  9. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  10. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  11. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  14. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  22. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  23. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  24. What's the difference between broth and ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. mug — a face
  2. ground — crushed
  3. last — final
  4. hand — in cards
  5. mug — to rob
  6. last — to go on
  7. stock — shares
  8. ground — a position
  9. stem — to come from
  10. lean — thin
  11. stem — a stem cell
  12. ground — the earth
  13. stock — goods
  14. mug — a cup
  15. last — finally
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. shower — rain
  18. shower — to wash
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. hand — help
  21. lean — to rest against
  22. lean — to bend
  23. stem — of a plant
  24. stock — a soup base

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