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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. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. David sat on the ________________.
  4. When was this ________________ built?
  5. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  6. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  7. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  8. The King held a masked ________________.
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  13. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  17. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  18. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  21. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  22. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. The ________________ market has crashed.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. prune — to trim
  3. swing — to play on
  4. temple — a place of worship
  5. prune — the fruit
  6. pound — a weight
  7. stock — a soup base
  8. ball — a dance
  9. prune — to trim
  10. temple — side of the head
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. pound — for dogs
  13. ball — a great time
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. swing — in golf
  17. ball — a round shape
  18. swing — music
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. stock — goods
  21. pound — to hit hard
  22. temple — a place of worship
  23. cold — not warm
  24. stock — shares

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