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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. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  2. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  5. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  6. The ________________ market has crashed.
  7. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  8. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  9. My father caught me by the ________________.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  12. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  13. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  17. We're almost out of ________________.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  20. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  21. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  22. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  23. You don't need to ________________ round.
  24. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. bass — the instrument
  3. chest — of your body
  4. cap — a hat
  5. pop — music
  6. stock — shares
  7. arm — a part of something
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. chest — a box
  11. bass — low music
  12. racket — a loud noise
  13. bass — the fish
  14. shower — rain
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. pop — soda
  18. chest — of your body
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. cap — of ice
  21. stock — goods
  22. cap — a lid
  23. pop — to visit
  24. shower — to wash

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