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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 old man leaned on his ________________.
  2. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  3. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  4. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  5. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  6. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  7. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. She's very handy with a ________________.
  10. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  11. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. He works in a ________________ mill.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  18. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  19. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  20. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  23. The ________________ market has crashed.
  24. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — a stick
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. stock — a soup base
  4. squash — the sport
  5. stock — goods
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. hand — in cards
  9. saw — the tool
  10. fan — to cool the air
  11. hide — animal skin
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. kid — to tease
  15. saw — the tool
  16. hand — help
  17. squash — the vegetable
  18. saw — past of 'see'
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. squash — to crush
  21. kid — child
  22. staff — employees
  23. stock — shares
  24. staff — employees

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