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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. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  2. The ________________ market has crashed.
  3. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  4. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  7. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  8. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  13. How do you ________________ your surname?
  14. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  15. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  16. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  17. It's one o'clock ________________.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  20. There's no middle ________________.
  21. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  24. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a line
  2. stock — shares
  3. sharp — with an edge
  4. can — a tin
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. can — to be able to
  7. stock — a soup base
  8. can — a tin
  9. ground — crushed
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. ground — the earth
  12. lie — to recline
  13. spell — letters
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. sharp — clever
  16. row — a quarrel
  17. sharp — exactly
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. lie — an untruth
  20. ground — a position
  21. stock — goods
  22. row — to paddle
  23. spell — a short time
  24. spell — magic

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