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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. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  2. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  3. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  6. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  7. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  8. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  9. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  10. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  11. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  12. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  13. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  14. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  15. My father caught me by the ________________.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. The ________________ market has crashed.
  18. Don't do anything ________________.
  19. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  22. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  23. He is an ace ________________.
  24. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. deal — to handle
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. mine — for digging
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. deal — a big deal
  7. rest — what's left
  8. scale — for weighing
  9. scale — in music
  10. deal — an agreement
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. rest — a break
  13. rest — what's left
  14. stock — goods
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. stock — shares
  18. rash — hasty
  19. rash — on the skin
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. arm — a part of something
  22. rash — a series
  23. pitcher — in baseball
  24. scale — size or range

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