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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. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  2. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  3. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  4. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  5. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  6. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  9. My father caught me by the ________________.
  10. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. The ________________ market has crashed.
  15. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  16. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  19. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  20. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  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. rock — a stone
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. rock — music
  6. lean — to bend
  7. mine — for digging
  8. lean — to rest against
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. staff — employees
  11. cold — an illness
  12. staff — a stick
  13. cold — not warm
  14. stock — shares
  15. arm — a part of something
  16. lean — thin
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. rock — to move gently
  19. stock — a soup base
  20. stock — goods
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. fan — to cool the air
  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