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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 116 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. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  2. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  6. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  9. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  12. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  13. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  14. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  18. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  19. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  20. The ________________ market has crashed.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. My mare is ________________ in color.
  23. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  24. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. branch — a division
  3. land — a country
  4. land — to come down
  5. present — there
  6. cue — a hint
  7. spell — letters
  8. branch — of a bank
  9. cue — for pool
  10. land — ground
  11. bay — a part of the sea
  12. branch — of a tree
  13. present — the time now
  14. stock — goods
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. present — a gift
  18. cue — a signal
  19. spell — magic
  20. stock — shares
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. bay — a horse colour
  23. bay — to keep at bay
  24. spell — a short time

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