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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. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  2. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  3. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  4. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  5. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  6. The ________________ market has crashed.
  7. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  19. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — a straw man
  2. stock — goods
  3. stock — a soup base
  4. rest — what's left
  5. bear — the animal
  6. stock — shares
  7. stick — to attach or keep to
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. rest — a break
  10. capital — a city
  11. bear — to put up with
  12. capital — money
  13. march — the month
  14. rest — what's left
  15. kid — to tease
  16. kid — child
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. bear — the animal
  20. march — the month
  21. march — music
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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