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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. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. There's no middle ________________.
  3. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  4. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  5. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  6. David sat on the ________________.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  13. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  14. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  15. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  16. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  17. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  18. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  19. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  20. The ________________ market has crashed.
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. He is an ace ________________.
  23. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  24. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. ground — a position
  3. stock — goods
  4. firm — steady
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. swing — to play on
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. firm — a company
  9. ground — crushed
  10. bank — for money
  11. cold — not warm
  12. firm — decided
  13. swing — in golf
  14. craft — boats
  15. stock — a soup base
  16. craft — a handicraft
  17. craft — a skill
  18. swing — music
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. stock — shares
  21. ground — the earth
  22. pitcher — in baseball
  23. bank — for money
  24. bank — of a river

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