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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. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  5. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  6. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  7. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  8. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  9. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. The ________________ market has crashed.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  23. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  24. I can't ________________ this cold.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — goods
  2. wind — moving air
  3. clip — to cut
  4. stand — for spectators
  5. cell — in biology
  6. drill — the tool
  7. drill — a practice
  8. stand — on your feet
  9. firm — steady
  10. cell — a phone
  11. firm — decided
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. firm — a company
  15. clip — for paper
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. stock — shares
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. clip — a video
  21. wind — moving air
  22. drill — army training
  23. stock — a soup base
  24. stand — to bear

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