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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 ________________ market has crashed.
  2. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  7. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  8. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  11. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  14. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  15. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  18. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  19. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. squash — the sport
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. stock — a soup base
  7. squash — to crush
  8. can — to be able to
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. squash — the vegetable
  11. can — a tin
  12. last — final
  13. root — of a plant
  14. can — a tin
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. root — of a word
  18. root — the cause
  19. stock — goods
  20. last — finally
  21. hand — in cards
  22. hand — help
  23. racket — a loud noise
  24. last — to go 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