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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. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  3. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  4. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  9. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  14. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  17. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  18. The ________________ market has crashed.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  23. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  24. That was ________________ to happen.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. pit — a hole
  3. stock — goods
  4. stock — a soup base
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. shower — to wash
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. wax — in the ear
  9. bound — tied together
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. club — for golf
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. pit — in a race
  14. wax — to grow
  15. cold — not warm
  16. club — for dancing
  17. pit — a fruit stone
  18. stock — shares
  19. shower — rain
  20. bound — obliged
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. club — a group
  23. wax — for sculpting
  24. bound — certain

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