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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. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  4. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  5. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  6. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  7. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  8. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  9. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  10. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  13. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  14. The King held a masked ________________.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  17. The ________________ market has crashed.
  18. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  19. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  20. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — goods
  2. snap — to click
  3. snap — to snap out of it
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. ball — a great time
  6. stock — a soup base
  7. ball — a round shape
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. snap — to speak sharply
  10. stick — to attach or keep to
  11. cold — an illness
  12. band — a music group
  13. ruler — a monarch
  14. ball — a dance
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. fan — to cool the air
  17. stock — shares
  18. ruler — for measuring
  19. stick — a piece of wood
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. cold — not warm
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. band — a ring
  24. ruler — for measuring

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