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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. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  2. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  3. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  6. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  15. Have you met the new head ________________?
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. The ________________ market has crashed.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — pulled by horses
  2. stick — to attach or keep to
  3. safe — a strongbox
  4. clip — to cut
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. stock — a soup base
  7. shower — to wash
  8. court — of a king
  9. stock — goods
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. clip — for paper
  12. court — for sport
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. safe — out of danger
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. safe — out of danger
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. clip — a video
  21. stick — a piece of wood
  22. court — of law
  23. shower — rain
  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