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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. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. The light ________________ burned out.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  7. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  11. The ________________ market has crashed.
  12. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  13. He works in a ________________ mill.
  14. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  15. You don't need to ________________ round.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. She's very handy with a ________________.
  18. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  19. I've got to change the light ________________.
  20. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. We're almost out of ________________.
  24. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. bulb — for light
  3. hand — help
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. deal — a big deal
  7. stock — a soup base
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. hand — in cards
  10. bulb — of a plant
  11. stock — shares
  12. stock — goods
  13. saw — the tool
  14. saw — past of 'see'
  15. pop — to visit
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. saw — the tool
  18. deal — to handle
  19. bulb — for light
  20. pop — music
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. wound — an injury
  23. pop — soda
  24. deal — an agreement

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