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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. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  2. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  3. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  4. He is an ace ________________.
  5. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  8. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. She's very handy with a ________________.
  11. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. He works in a ________________ mill.
  14. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  17. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  22. The ________________ market has crashed.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. can — a tin
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. pitcher — in baseball
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. last — finally
  7. stock — goods
  8. can — to be able to
  9. chest — of your body
  10. saw — the tool
  11. saw — past of 'see'
  12. last — final
  13. saw — the tool
  14. branch — a division
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. branch — of a tree
  17. branch — of a bank
  18. cell — a phone
  19. chest — a box
  20. last — to go on
  21. can — a tin
  22. stock — shares
  23. cell — in biology
  24. chest — of your body

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