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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. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  2. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  3. My father caught me by the ________________.
  4. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  5. The ________________ market has crashed.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  12. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  15. That must've been a ________________.
  16. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  17. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  18. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  19. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  20. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  21. Have you settled on a ________________?
  22. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. The ________________ took off on time.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — goods
  2. stock — a soup base
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. date — the fruit
  5. stock — shares
  6. spring — the season
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. drill — the tool
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. drill — a practice
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. spring — a coil
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. rush — a thrill
  16. rush — hurry
  17. plane — in geometry
  18. rush — to hurry
  19. arm — a part of something
  20. plane — a tool
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. drill — army training
  23. spring — of water
  24. plane — an aircraft

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