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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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  4. The ________________ market has crashed.
  5. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  6. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  7. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  8. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  9. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  10. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  13. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  14. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  15. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  16. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  17. The King held a masked ________________.
  18. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  19. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  20. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  21. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  22. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  23. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  24. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. cold — not warm
  3. squash — the sport
  4. stock — shares
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. wake — before a funeral
  8. stick — to attach or keep to
  9. lean — to bend
  10. stock — a soup base
  11. cold — an illness
  12. stock — goods
  13. squash — the vegetable
  14. lean — thin
  15. lean — to rest against
  16. scale — for weighing
  17. ball — a dance
  18. ball — a great time
  19. wake — to stop sleeping
  20. squash — to crush
  21. wake — a trail
  22. scale — size or range
  23. ball — a round shape
  24. scale — in music

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