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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. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  5. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  6. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  7. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  8. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  13. Have you met the new head ________________?
  14. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  15. I'll be taking the ________________.
  16. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  21. The ________________ market has crashed.
  22. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  23. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  24. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. chest — of your body
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. can — a tin
  5. fork — a garden tool
  6. fork — in a road
  7. fork — to eat with
  8. tube — in a tire
  9. chest — a box
  10. object — a thing
  11. chest — of your body
  12. can — a tin
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. object — to protest
  15. tube — the underground
  16. object — an aim
  17. kid — to tease
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. kid — child
  20. tube — a container
  21. stock — shares
  22. stock — goods
  23. can — to be able to
  24. coach — pulled by horses

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