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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. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  4. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  8. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  9. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  14. When will it ________________ you to start?
  15. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  16. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  21. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  22. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  23. The ________________ market has crashed.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. object — to protest
  2. land — to come down
  3. object — a thing
  4. stock — a soup base
  5. land — ground
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. bass — the instrument
  8. suit — clothes
  9. hide — animal skin
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. field — farmland
  13. bass — low music
  14. suit — to fit
  15. bass — the fish
  16. object — an aim
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. field — a subject
  19. land — a country
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. suit — in cards
  22. stock — goods
  23. stock — shares
  24. field — for sport

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