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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. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  2. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  8. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  15. David sat on the ________________.
  16. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. The ________________ market has crashed.
  19. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  23. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  24. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. mouse — for a computer
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. spring — the season
  7. mouse — the animal
  8. chip — in a computer
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. mouse — the animal
  11. wound — an injury
  12. shower — to wash
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. chip — to eat
  15. swing — to play on
  16. swing — music
  17. spring — a coil
  18. stock — shares
  19. stock — goods
  20. spring — of water
  21. shower — rain
  22. swing — in golf
  23. stock — a soup base
  24. chip — for betting

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