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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. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  2. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. David sat on the ________________.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  8. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  9. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  10. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  11. The ________________ market has crashed.
  12. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  13. Don't do anything ________________.
  14. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  15. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  16. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  17. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  18. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  19. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  22. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. rest — a break
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. cold — not warm
  5. swing — to play on
  6. cold — an illness
  7. rash — on the skin
  8. rest — what's left
  9. bank — for money
  10. swing — music
  11. stock — shares
  12. bank — for money
  13. rash — hasty
  14. pass — to succeed
  15. stock — goods
  16. pass — a permit
  17. rash — a series
  18. pass — to spend time
  19. bank — of a river
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. stock — a soup base
  22. swing — in golf
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. straw — a straw man

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