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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. He was locked up in a ________________.
  2. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  4. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  5. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  11. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  17. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. The ________________ market has crashed.
  22. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  23. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in a prison
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. fall — the season
  4. stock — a soup base
  5. stock — goods
  6. shower — to wash
  7. mark — a grade
  8. bat — the animal
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. fall — to drop
  11. mark — to pay attention
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. cell — a phone
  14. bore — to tire
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. mark — a trace
  17. fall — to drop
  18. shower — rain
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. stock — shares
  22. bore — gave birth
  23. bore — to drill
  24. cell — in biology

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