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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. The ________________ market has crashed.
  2. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  3. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  8. When will it ________________ you to start?
  9. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  10. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. Have you met the new head ________________?
  20. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  21. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  22. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  23. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  24. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. coach — pulled by horses
  3. squash — to crush
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. squash — the vegetable
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. stock — a soup base
  8. suit — to fit
  9. suit — clothes
  10. sharp — with an edge
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. sharp — clever
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. stock — goods
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. bat — the animal
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. rest — a break
  21. squash — the sport
  22. rest — what's left
  23. rest — what's left
  24. suit — in cards

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