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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 goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  2. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  17. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  18. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  19. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  20. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  21. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. The ________________ market has crashed.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — dry grass
  2. board — a flat piece
  3. row — a line
  4. row — to paddle
  5. chest — a box
  6. shower — to wash
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. chest — of your body
  10. stock — goods
  11. march — the month
  12. march — music
  13. shower — rain
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. march — the month
  16. dip — to sink
  17. board — to get on
  18. stock — a soup base
  19. dip — a sauce
  20. board — a committee
  21. dip — to dunk
  22. chest — of your body
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. stock — shares

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