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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. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  5. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  6. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  7. The ________________ market has crashed.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  10. He is an ace ________________.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  15. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  16. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  17. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  18. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  19. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  20. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  24. We had a fire ________________ at school today.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. shower — rain
  4. pit — a fruit stone
  5. track — to keep track
  6. pit — a hole
  7. stock — shares
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. firm — decided
  10. pitcher — in baseball
  11. cold — not warm
  12. pit — in a race
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. drill — the tool
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. stock — goods
  17. track — a song
  18. firm — a company
  19. track — a path
  20. firm — steady
  21. shower — to wash
  22. stock — a soup base
  23. drill — army training
  24. drill — a practice

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