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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 116 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 spa offers ________________ extensions.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  5. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  14. This piece is in a major ________________.
  15. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  16. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  21. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  24. The ________________ market has crashed.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — an eyelash
  2. cold — not warm
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. present — a gift
  5. stock — goods
  6. row — a line
  7. lash — to lash out
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. row — to paddle
  10. cold — an illness
  11. hand — help
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. lash — a whip stroke
  14. key — in music
  15. stock — a soup base
  16. key — for a lock
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. row — a quarrel
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. key — the most important part
  21. present — there
  22. hand — in cards
  23. present — the time now
  24. stock — shares

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