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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 ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  2. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  7. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  8. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  12. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. The ________________ market has crashed.
  17. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  18. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  19. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  20. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. fork — to eat with
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. fork — in a road
  7. stock — a soup base
  8. pitch — completely
  9. bat — the animal
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. rest — what's left
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. spring — of water
  14. pitch — a sports field
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. stock — shares
  17. stock — goods
  18. rest — a break
  19. pitch — a sales talk
  20. fork — a garden tool
  21. spring — a coil
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. spring — the season

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