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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. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  2. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  5. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  8. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  9. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  10. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  11. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. This piece is in a major ________________.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. The ________________ market has crashed.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  24. What's the difference between broth and ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. wave — of the sea
  2. key — for a lock
  3. cold — not warm
  4. key — the most important part
  5. lie — an untruth
  6. march — music
  7. lash — to lash out
  8. lash — a whip stroke
  9. lash — an eyelash
  10. wave — a sudden rise
  11. lie — an untruth
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. lie — to recline
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. march — the month
  16. key — in music
  17. march — the month
  18. stock — shares
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. wave — with your hand
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. cold — an illness
  23. stock — goods
  24. stock — a soup base

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