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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 120 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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. The ________________ market has crashed.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  15. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  16. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  17. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  18. When was this ________________ built?
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. shower — rain
  3. wind — moving air
  4. stock — a soup base
  5. shower — to wash
  6. cell — in biology
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. stock — shares
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. pound — a weight
  15. stock — goods
  16. pound — for dogs
  17. temple — a place of worship
  18. temple — a place of worship
  19. cell — a phone
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. pound — to hit hard
  22. wind — moving air
  23. temple — side of the head
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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