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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. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  6. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  7. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  8. The ________________ market has crashed.
  9. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  10. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  11. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  12. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  13. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  16. Don't do anything ________________.
  17. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  18. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  19. My father caught me by the ________________.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  22. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  23. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  24. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. cold — an illness
  4. spring — the season
  5. arm — a part of something
  6. stick — to attach or keep to
  7. stock — a soup base
  8. stock — shares
  9. rash — on the skin
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. rash — a series
  12. deal — a big deal
  13. bowl — a dish
  14. cold — not warm
  15. bowl — to roll
  16. rash — hasty
  17. bowl — a football final
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. spring — a coil
  21. stock — goods
  22. deal — to handle
  23. deal — an agreement
  24. stick — a piece of wood

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