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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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  5. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  6. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  7. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  8. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  14. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  15. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  16. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  20. The ________________ took off on time.
  21. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  22. Don't do anything ________________.
  23. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  24. The ________________ market has crashed.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. present — there
  5. rash — a series
  6. plane — a tool
  7. stock — a soup base
  8. present — a gift
  9. field — a subject
  10. cold — an illness
  11. field — farmland
  12. field — for sport
  13. present — the time now
  14. rash — on the skin
  15. firm — a company
  16. firm — decided
  17. cold — not warm
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. plane — in geometry
  20. plane — an aircraft
  21. stock — goods
  22. rash — hasty
  23. firm — steady
  24. stock — shares

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