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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. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  2. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  4. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  10. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  11. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  12. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  13. Where did you ________________ them?
  14. The ________________ market has crashed.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  18. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  19. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  22. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. He refilled his coffee ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. track — to keep track
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. scale — in music
  4. stock — goods
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. cold — an illness
  7. stock — a soup base
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. track — a song
  10. bowl — to roll
  11. scale — for weighing
  12. bowl — a football final
  13. mug — to rob
  14. stock — shares
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. row — to paddle
  17. mug — a face
  18. row — a quarrel
  19. track — a path
  20. row — a line
  21. scale — size or range
  22. bowl — a dish
  23. cold — not warm
  24. mug — a cup

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