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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. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  6. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  10. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. The ________________ market has crashed.
  14. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  15. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  16. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  17. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  18. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  19. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  20. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  24. The King held a masked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — dry grass
  2. cold — an illness
  3. present — a gift
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. bowl — a dish
  6. present — the time now
  7. kid — child
  8. cold — not warm
  9. stock — goods
  10. present — there
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. stock — shares
  14. bowl — a football final
  15. ball — a great time
  16. bowl — to roll
  17. pass — a permit
  18. ball — a round shape
  19. pass — to spend time
  20. stock — a soup base
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. kid — to tease
  23. pass — to succeed
  24. ball — a dance

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