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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. He works in a ________________ mill.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  6. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. She's very handy with a ________________.
  9. The ________________ market has crashed.
  10. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  13. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  16. He is an ace ________________.
  17. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  22. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  23. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. cold — not warm
  3. cell — a phone
  4. wound — an injury
  5. fan — to cool the air
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. cell — in biology
  8. saw — the tool
  9. stock — shares
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. pound — to hit hard
  13. pound — for dogs
  14. wound — an injury
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. pitcher — in baseball
  17. saw — past of 'see'
  18. cold — an illness
  19. pound — a weight
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. stock — goods
  23. stock — a soup base
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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