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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. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. The ________________ market has crashed.
  3. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  4. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  8. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  11. The ________________ went through the wall.
  12. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  17. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  20. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  21. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  22. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  23. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  24. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. stock — shares
  3. wave — of the sea
  4. wave — a sudden rise
  5. chair — a leader
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. wave — with your hand
  8. season — of the year
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. pit — a fruit stone
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. pit — a hole
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. season — in sport
  17. nail — on a finger
  18. bat — the animal
  19. chair — a professorship
  20. chair — to sit on
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. stock — a soup base
  23. pit — in a race
  24. stock — goods

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