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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 124 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 water is too ________________.
  3. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  4. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  5. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  6. The ________________ market has crashed.
  7. That must've been a ________________.
  8. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  9. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  10. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  11. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  14. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  15. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  16. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  17. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  24. I'd like to play a game of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. cold — not warm
  3. rush — hurry
  4. squash — the vegetable
  5. safe — out of danger
  6. stock — shares
  7. rush — a thrill
  8. fine — high quality
  9. rock — a stone
  10. rush — to hurry
  11. squash — to crush
  12. cold — an illness
  13. safe — a strongbox
  14. fine — all right
  15. fine — a penalty
  16. safe — out of danger
  17. rock — music
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. stock — goods
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. rock — to move gently
  24. squash — the sport

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