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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. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  2. The ________________ market has crashed.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  5. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  6. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  13. My mare is ________________ in color.
  14. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  17. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  18. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  19. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  20. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  23. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — to keep at bay
  2. stock — shares
  3. cold — not warm
  4. staff — employees
  5. stock — a soup base
  6. toast — bread
  7. cell — in biology
  8. bay — a part of the sea
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. cold — an illness
  11. spring — a coil
  12. staff — employees
  13. bay — a horse colour
  14. staff — a stick
  15. spring — the season
  16. stock — goods
  17. pound — to hit hard
  18. toast — a drink to someone
  19. pound — for dogs
  20. cell — a phone
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. toast — the most admired
  23. pound — a weight
  24. spring — of water

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