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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. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. She's very handy with a ________________.
  8. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  9. The ________________ market has crashed.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  14. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. He works in a ________________ mill.
  17. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  23. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  24. I don't want to ________________ the boat.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. stock — goods
  3. chair — a leader
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. tear — from crying
  7. saw — the tool
  8. mark — to pay attention
  9. stock — shares
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. wind — moving air
  12. tear — from crying
  13. saw — past of 'see'
  14. rock — a stone
  15. wind — moving air
  16. saw — the tool
  17. mark — a trace
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. tear — to rip
  20. stock — a soup base
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. mark — a grade
  23. rock — music
  24. rock — to move gently

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