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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 116 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 goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  2. He is an ace ________________.
  3. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  4. David sat on the ________________.
  5. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  6. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  7. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  8. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. The ________________ market has crashed.
  11. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  12. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  13. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  14. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  15. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  16. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  17. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  18. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  21. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  22. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  23. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  24. She had a strange look on her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — dry grass
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. scale — in music
  4. swing — to play on
  5. rest — a break
  6. rest — what's left
  7. scale — size or range
  8. face — to confront
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. stock — shares
  11. face — to point toward
  12. stock — goods
  13. swing — in golf
  14. stock — a soup base
  15. swing — music
  16. trunk — of a car
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. trunk — of a tree
  21. rest — what's left
  22. scale — for weighing
  23. trunk — of an elephant
  24. face — part of the head

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