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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. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  2. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  6. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  7. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  8. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  9. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. Don't do anything ________________.
  13. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  14. Have you found your soul ________________?
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. The ________________ market has crashed.
  19. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  20. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  21. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  22. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  23. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — a straw man
  2. fine — high quality
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. mate — to breed
  6. fine — a penalty
  7. rash — a series
  8. stock — goods
  9. rash — on the skin
  10. net — after costs
  11. shower — to wash
  12. rash — hasty
  13. stock — a soup base
  14. mate — a partner
  15. net — for catching
  16. fine — all right
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. stock — shares
  19. net — in sport
  20. branch — a division
  21. branch — of a bank
  22. mate — a friend
  23. branch — of a tree
  24. shower — rain

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