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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. The ________________ market has crashed.
  2. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  3. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  4. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  5. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  6. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  7. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  8. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  9. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  10. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. She's very handy with a ________________.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. He works in a ________________ mill.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  23. It's one o'clock ________________.
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. saw — past of 'see'
  3. foot — part of the body
  4. stock — goods
  5. sharp — with an edge
  6. sharp — clever
  7. row — to paddle
  8. wake — before a funeral
  9. foot — a measure
  10. wake — to stop sleeping
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. saw — the tool
  13. row — a line
  14. stock — a soup base
  15. mine — for digging
  16. saw — the tool
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. foot — the bottom
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. wake — a trail
  23. sharp — exactly
  24. straw — a straw man

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