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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. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  8. The ________________ market has crashed.
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  14. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  17. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  18. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  19. I can't ________________ this cold.
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  22. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — goods
  2. cold — an illness
  3. chest — of your body
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. cold — not warm
  6. hand — help
  7. stock — a soup base
  8. stock — shares
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. chest — a box
  11. hand — in cards
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. can — a tin
  14. leaves — lets stay
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. leaves — of a tree
  17. can — to be able to
  18. stand — on your feet
  19. stand — to bear
  20. chest — of your body
  21. leaves — to go away
  22. stand — for spectators
  23. mine — for digging
  24. can — a tin

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