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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. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  6. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  7. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  8. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  12. Did you ________________ the meat?
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  16. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  17. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  24. The ________________ market has crashed.

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

Answer key

  1. object — a thing
  2. chest — of your body
  3. wave — with your hand
  4. chest — of your body
  5. stock — a soup base
  6. toast — the most admired
  7. object — an aim
  8. toast — bread
  9. spring — a coil
  10. cold — not warm
  11. wave — of the sea
  12. season — to add flavour
  13. spring — of water
  14. cold — an illness
  15. toast — a drink to someone
  16. object — to protest
  17. season — of the year
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. season — in sport
  20. spring — the season
  21. stock — goods
  22. chest — a box
  23. wave — a sudden rise
  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