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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 120 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 was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  2. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  3. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  4. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  9. The King held a masked ________________.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  13. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  14. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  15. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  16. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  17. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  18. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  19. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  20. The ________________ market has crashed.
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  23. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  24. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a great time
  2. stock — a soup base
  3. foot — part of the body
  4. wave — a sudden rise
  5. ground — a position
  6. scale — size or range
  7. wind — moving air
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. ball — a dance
  10. wind — moving air
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. stock — goods
  13. scale — in music
  14. ground — crushed
  15. wave — of the sea
  16. foot — the bottom
  17. ball — a round shape
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. scale — for weighing
  20. stock — shares
  21. ground — the earth
  22. hide — animal skin
  23. foot — a measure
  24. wave — with your hand

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