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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. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  2. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  5. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  8. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  9. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  10. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  11. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  15. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  20. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  21. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  22. The ________________ market has crashed.
  23. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  24. David sat on the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. mark — a trace
  3. hand — in cards
  4. mark — a grade
  5. swing — music
  6. hand — help
  7. can — a tin
  8. mouse — the animal
  9. branch — of a bank
  10. can — to be able to
  11. branch — of a tree
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. stock — goods
  15. swing — in golf
  16. cold — an illness
  17. mouse — for a computer
  18. cold — not warm
  19. mouse — the animal
  20. can — a tin
  21. branch — a division
  22. stock — shares
  23. mark — to pay attention
  24. swing — to play on

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